THE 



ADIRONDACKS 

• ILLUSTRATED. 




CONTAINING 



NARRATIVE OF A TRIP THROUGH THE WILDERNESS, WITH DESCRIPTION OF THE NATURAL 

FEATURES OF THE REGION; HINTS CONCERNING SUPPl lES AND GENERAL 

OUTFIT FOR CAMP AND TRAIL ; COST AND MANNER OF REACHING 

THE VARIOUS RESORTS ; HOTELS, WITH CAPACITY, PRICE 

OF BOARD, ETC.; TABLES OF ELEVATION AND 

DISTANCES ; MAPS, ETC., ETC. 



S. R. STODDARD 



AUTHOR OF 



TiCONDEROGA," " LaKE GeORGE, ILLUSTRATED," EtC. 

TWENTIETH EDITION. 

GLENS FALLS, N. Y.: 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 

1890. 

Copyright, i8qo, by S. R. Stoddard. 



By transfer 
22 A^'05 



im 



■'=4* 

I^9G\dGr! 

"A ivord wit J I you." 

If you have started for the 
wilderness and don't know all about the way, read this. 
Within is the boiled down essence of a vast amount of infor- 
mation, gathered from every available source, and arranged 
on a carefully considered system. In the network of ways, 
with their multitude of branches, continuity of progress may 
not be. Here is the key to the combination. 

The Adirondacks as a whole is considered on page xiii, 
under head of " Gateways." Following each gateway are 
lines leading to particular centres, giving distances and fares, 
with references to pages where more extended mention may 
be found. Places and specially noted features are indexed on 
page IX; hotels, lakes, ponds and mountains are given in 
special indexes. Expenses are touched upon at pages 6 and 
208, various suggestions concerning camp and outfit on pages 
208 to 215; fishing, page 216 to 223. The Advertisements 
(indexed on page 221) are interesting, for therein each man 
speaks for himself. 

If there is some specific point about which you would 
learn, consult the iftdex. If you would wander free as the 
vagrant bee, gathering honey from every flower, throw the 



VI Greeting, 1890. 

book away — you won't need it. If you are undecided as to 
course follow the " Professor " and the writer through 
the "Narrative" so long as the company please 
you. It represents an erratic course that covers substantially 
the most interesting and diverse interior portions of the great 
wilderness, noting such changes by the way as time and im- 
proved facihties for transportation have brought about since 
the trip was made in 1873, and contrasting the old and the 
new in the procession of changeful years. 

The preservation of the forests, a question of vital impor- 
tance not only to the Adirondack region itself but to the 
State and country as well, has received another blow in the 
crumb flung to visionaries in shape of legislative authority to 
purchase wild land at the munificent rate of one dollar and 
fifty cents per acre. Meantime, the club man and the ■ lum- 
ber man and the charcoal man and the woodpulp man and 
the man with a little money to invest for a rise, are each and 
all quietly absorbing the valuable portions, and the little that 
falls back on the State comes only after being robbed of that 
which alone makes its possession a thing to be desired. The 
legislature that voted and the Governor who signed the bill 
knew, undoubtedly, at the time, that it was intended simply 
as a mild sedative to quiet pubHc opinion, and as long 
as the lumberman did not object, there was no harm 
done. And the lumberman, engaged in an honorable (and 
profitable) business, is not to be blamed for making what can 
be made out of it, as, with dynamite and giant powder, he 
clears away obstructions in mountain gorges and wilderness 
streams, and, with dams, floods, and drains, the valleys, until 
the retiring waters leave behind them decay and death. Then 
comes the woodpulp fiend to strip the hills of the softer wood, 
which the lumberman has pointed to with pride as showing 
that he did not cut away the forests, and the forest duff, which 
through ages past has slowly cUmbed the mountains, affording 
support to the compensating vegetation that in turn deposits 
more duff higher up, opened to the sun, soon becomes as 
tinder \ then the fire, and after that — the deluge. 



Greeting, 1890. vii 

It is curious that the section where the great Hudson River 
rises and about its higher tributary streams, should be less 

known t o 
the general 
public than 
almost any- 
other part of 
the Adiron- 
dacks, but 
such is the 
fact ; and is 
also a fact 
that it is 
being grad- 
ually strip- 
ped of its 
V a 1 u able 
trees far up 
into rugged 
Indian Pass 
and around 
its wild 
headwaters, 

[Light portion shows Hudson River drainage.] CXCept a n 

occasional narrow belt left untouched around the more im- 
portant lakes. All this section, with a good part of the west- 
ern watershed, should be under control of the State, and would 
be cheap at almost any price, now, before irreparable injury 
is done. How near that point has been reached cannot be 
determined yet, but the gradual annual shrinkage in the water 
supply of the Hudson, with its sudden floods and as sudden 
drying-up of tributary streams, are warnings that should not 
be ignored. The people of the State, outside the territory in 
question, should take the matter in hand. So long as the 
public rest content, legislators will ''swop" votes and the slaugh- 
ter will go on, for no man can get to the legislature from the 




VIII Greeting, 1890. 

mountain districts who is not in sympathy with the lumber- 
men, and " legislative courtesy " forbids that members from 
the city shall go poking their honorable noses into mountain 
matters, under penalty of counter votes on their own special 
little jobs. 

I would enact a law prohibiting forever the cutting of any 
tree under twenty- five inches in diameter, except with the ap- 
proval of a commissioner appointed by the government, on 
any land in New York State lying 1,800 feet above tide. 
Then let clubs and individuals struggle for the acreage to their 
hearts' content. In justice to all, the State should pay to the 
present owners the market value of the standing timber com- 
ing under this rule, less the actual cost of marketing. 

Clubs acquiring large tracts of wild lands for private 
grounds and fish preserves are unquestionably a benefit nex' 
to State ownership, if (as the " Adirondack League Club," 
owning a tract of nearly 100,000 acres of forest land in south- 
ern Herkimer and Hamilton Counties, propose to do) they 
allow the timber to be cut only in accordance with the most ap- 
proved rules of scientific forestry which, under European gov- 
ernments, have made waste sections not only self-sustaining 
as to cost of management, but a source of revenue also ; or 
like the " Adirondack Mountain Reserve," owning the land 
around the Au Sable Lakes, which not only preserves the 
forest but throws it open to all the world, with certain just re- 
strictions, devoting a large part of the revenue thus obtained 
to the construction of additional roads and trails, with the 
idea that all the senses may be blessed with its loveliness, and 
that beautiful nature should not be monopolized by those who 
come with only the animal desire to kill. Other clubs are yet 
to be heard from ; few make professions of philanthropic object, 
and some are even suspected of a wiUingness to be led astray 
by the blandishments of those who destroy. 

Let the mountains keep their protecting forests, that they 
remain a blessing rather than a continual menace. 



xisriDEix:. 



PAGE. 

Adirondacks 

In general 1 

Adirondack Club 130 

Sanitarium 95 

•^ Reserve 165 

III ined Village. 127 
A'lv 'Dture.flsh ball 101 

Ad'- a-tisements 237 

A;; -able Chasm .... 33 
Bh < : e of Plattsburgh. 51 

B;v e of Valcour 45 

B-^ier River 207-b 

Bi> y, Dr. G. F. .. 53 

B!( mingdale 62 b 

Bl. '; Mt. Lake 192 

B); " Point 47 

Bo.riville 206 

BrU-htside-on-Raq'tte 203 

B'-o.vn.John 75-82 

Br.i.vn Tract 205-207 

Burlington 31 

Ca up, suggestions... 211 

Ci.iiUon 22 

Carrying experience. 118 
Cedar Lakes (el. 2,529) 193 

Cedar River 192 

Chateaugay Chasm.. 52 

Champlain Lake 14 

Champlain, Sam'l de. 14 

Chestertown 179 

ChildvFold 109-c 

Chubb River 93 

Clinton Prison 57 

Colden Camp 131 

Crab Island 51 

Crown Point Ruins.. 24 

Cumberland Head 50 

Downey's Landing .109-A 
"Eagle's Nest," the.. 122 

Elizabethtown 148 

Essex 31 

Ethan Allen 21 

EubaDam 151 

Expenses estimated. 6 
Fishing, tackle, flies.. 216 
Fish, where found.... 223 

Franklin Falls 61 

Forestry Laws 224 

Fort Frederick 24 

Fort Ticonderoga ... 19 

Cateways.speci 

pages xiii, xiv, xv 

Guides, relating to.. . 214 

Game Laws 222 

Henderson, David... 126 
Hotels.spe'l index, xi 

Indian Carry 105 

Indian Face 168 

Indian Lake 191 

Indian Pass (eL 2,937, 

90) 132 



PAGE. 

Insect Preparations . . 213 

Keene 83 

Keene Valley 152-256 

Keeseville 44 

Lakes, spe'l head., x 

Lake Placid 89-92 

Lake Pleasant 191 

Long Lake Village. .. 114 

Lowville 206 

Luzerne 177 

Lyon Mountain 59 

Malone 56 

Map, introduced 7 

Marion River 203 

Maps 

Au Sable Chasm. .. 40 
Au Sable Lake.... 166-c 
Blue Mount'n Lake 199 
Champlain Lake ... 16 
Elizabethtown .... 166-a 

Forked Lake 199 

Gateways xiii 

Keene Valley 152 

Port Kent Route... 26 

Raquette River 116 

Raquette Lake 199 

SaranacL'ke(low'r) 96 
Saranac L'ke(upp'r) 105 

Saranac Inn Co 107 

Schroon Lake 181 

Tupper Lake 116 

Westport to Lake 

Placid 166-A 

Marcy, ascent of 170 

Marion River 199 

Medicine chest 213 

Mineville (el 1,347, 15) 26 

Minerva 189 

Moose River 205 

Mountains»spe- 

cial head x 

Narrative 9 

NedBuntline 122 

Newcomb 123 

North Creek 189 

North Elba 83 

Old Mountain Phelps. 155 

" On the tramp" 125 

Outfit, suggestions ... 4 

camp and woods 208 

sporting 214 

Phantom Falls 120 

Peasleville 62-c 

Pilot, the 13 

Plattsburgh 51 

Pleasant Valley. . .148-152 
Ponds, spec'l head x 

Potsdam. 181 

Pottersville 180 

Port Henry 24 



PAGE. 

Port Kent 31 

Railroads 

Adirondack 189 

Adirondack (Nor'n) 57 
Au Sable Chasm & 

Keeseville 32 

Au Sable (branch). 62-d 
Carihage & Adiron- 
dack 207-B 

Chateaugay.. 57, 222-238 

"D. &H." 226 

Fulton Chain 205 

Hudson River : 225 

West Shore....* 225 

Raquette Falls Ill 

Raquette Lake 121. 202 

Raquette River 109-a 

Ray Brook 94 

Red Horse Chain. . .207-b 

Riverside 179 

Roaring Brook Falls. 163 

Rock Dunder 31 

Root's 187 

Rouse's Point 54 

Routes' to Gateways.. 225 

Sageville 191 

Sanitarium 95 

Saranac Club loi 

Saranac Lake 62-b 

Schroon Lake 182 

South Inlet 204 

Split Rock 31 

Sporting outfit. . 214 

Stage Lines to 

Adirondack Lodge. 149 

Blue Mt. Lake 191 

Elizabethtown 149 

Keene Valley . . . . 149 

Lake Placid 149 

Long Lake nfi 

Paul Smith's 60 

Schroon Lake... 149, 180 
St. Regis Lake 62-b 

Steamboats 

BlueMt. Lake 198 

Hudson River 225 

Lake Champlain, 

10, 25, 28, 55 

Stony Creek m 

Sweeney carry 108 

Tahawus (P. O ) 125 

Ticonderoga, Fort... 19 

Valcour Island 45 

Vergennes ., 28 

Westport 25 

WhitehaiL 17 

Willsborough Point.. 31 

Wilmington . 62-d 

Wilmington Notch. , , 71 
Wood Creek 17 



Index. 



LAKES AND PONDS. 



ELEVATION. PAGE. 

Albany Lake 1,704 207-b 

Ampersand Pond 2,078 

Augur Pond 45 

Au Sable Pond (Lower).. 1,959 169 

Au Sable Lake (Upper) . 1,993 169 

Avalanche Lake 2,856 131 

Beaver Lake 1,435 207-a 

Blue Mountain Lake . . 1,800 192 

Bog Lake 1,755 227-b 

Boreas Pond 2,046 

Bottle Pond 207-c 

Calamity Pond 2,712 127 

Canada Lakes (West).... 2.348 193 

Cascade Lakes 2,038 83 

Catlin Lake 1,583 124 

Cedar Lakes 2,529 191 

Chain Lak^ (Seven) 191 

Champlain 99 15 

Chapel Pond. 1,551 164 

Chateaugay Lake ( Lower) . 56 

Chateauga'y Lake (.Upper) 59 

Chazy Lake 1,500 58 

Clear Lake 2,159 86 

Colden Lake 131 

Cranberry Lake 1,540 207-B 

Crooked L (Herkimer Co.) 2,022 

Eagle Lake 1,800 199 

Edmonds Ponds 2,0;38 83 

Elk Lake (Mud PoQd).... 1,981 187 

Forked Lake 1,753 120 

Forked Lake (Little) 121 

Francis Lake 1,457 207-b 

Fulton Chain— First Lake 1,684 205 

Fulton Chain- Eighth L.. 1,803 206 

George 343 243 

Giant's Watshbowl 2,2:33 164 

Harkness Lake 131 

Henderson Lake 1,874 131 

Indian Lake 1,705 191 

Lake Placid 92 



ELEVATION. 

Lewey Lake 1,738 

LongLake 1,614 

Long Pond 1,581 

Loon Lake (Franklin Co.) 

Luzerne Lake 

Massawepie Lake 

Meacham Lake 

Mirror Lake 1,856 

Moose Lake 1,787 

Mud Lake I,7i5 

Paradox Lake 

Paradox Pond 

Pharaoh Lake 

Piseco Lake 

Placid Lake 1,863 

Pleasant 1,706 

Preston Ponds 2,206 

Ragged Lake 

Rainbow Lake 

Raquette Lake 1,774 

Raquette Pond 

Red Horse Chain 1,756 

Round Lake 1,542 

Sanford Lake 1,800 

Saranac Lake (Lower)... 1,539 

Saranac Lake (Middle)... 1,542 

Saranac Lake (Upper) 1,577 

Schroon Lake 830 

Smith's Lake 1,725 

South Pd. (Hamilton Co.) 1,769 

Stony Creek Ponds 1,643 

St. Regis Lakes 1,623 

Tear of the Clouds 4,321 

Thirteenth Lake 1,953 

Titus Lake 

Tupper Lake (Big) 1,.554 

Tupper Lake (Little) 1,728 

Utow ana Lake 

West Canada Lakes 2,348 



PAGE. 

191 
113 

61 

177 

109-A 

53 



207-B 
187 

93 
187 
192 

92 
192 
131 

53 

62-A 

121-201 

109-A 

207-B 

100 

126 

96 
100 
104 
180 
110 
124 
111 

60 
170 
190 

52 

109-E 

110 

201 

191 



MOUNTAINS. 
(Table of Elevations.) 



4.NI 


C. NAME. 


ELEV. 


PAGE. 


RANK. NAME. 


ELEV. 


PAGE. 




Ampersand 


3,432 




Mount Jo 




86 




Bartlett 


3,715 


169 


19 Lyon Mountain.. 


. 3,809 


59 


5 


Basin 


4,905 
2,661 


169 
172 


1 Macomb 

2 Marcy(Tabawa8). 


. 4,371 
. 5,344 






Black 


^171 




Blue Mountain... 


3.824 


199 


fSrv*- Mclntire 


. 5,201 


147 




Catamount Mount'n 3,128 


62 


14 Nipple Top 


. 4,684 


171 




Cobble Hill 


1,936 


151 


Noon-Mark 


. 3,548 


157 


11 


Colden 


4,753 


131 


North River 


. 3,758 




?^ 


Colvin 


4,142 


165 


Owl's Head 


. 2,825 


113 




Crane's 


3,289 




13 Redfield 


. 4,688 




4 


Dix 


. 4,916 


156 


Resagonia 

16 Saddle 




165 


17 


Giant 


. 4,530 


160 


. 4,536 




12 


Gothic 


4,744 


160 


15 Santanoni 


. 4,644 




6 


Gray Peak 


. 4,902 


172 


18 Seward 


. 4,384 


113 


3 


Havstack 


. 4,918 


169 


7 Skylight 


. 4,889 


171 


10 


Litlle Haystack... 


. 4,766 




Snowy 


. 3,903 






Hopkins Peak... . 


3,136 


160 


St. Regis 


. 2,888 


96 




Hurricane 


. 3,763 


151 


Wallface 


. 3,893 


146 




Indian Face (.appr.) 


. 2,536 


161 


8 Whiteface 


. 4,871 


67 



Index. 

HOTELS. 



PAQK. I 

Adirondack House 

(Keene Valley) . . • • • i^J 
Adirondack House 

(Saranac Lake).... ^b 
Adirondack Lodge... 86 

Algonquin, The 99-B 

ArUngtonCotta^e 86 

American H., ss.^*^- 

Antlers, The J"^ 

Bliss House W f^ 

Beede House.. ^ i"- 

Berkeley House g 

llr^n^ke House fl 
BlueMt.H.(Bl.M.L.) 195 
Burlington Hotel.... ^- 

CairsHotel..... ^l" 

CaUade Lake House. 84 

Castle Rustico. y| 

Chasm House ....... ^^ 

Champlam, Hotel.... 4i 

Chazy Lake House... 58 
Chester House .. ^9 

ChildwoldPk H ...lOJc 

ClearPondH.(Big)..^^^ 



Corey's (Lem ) 
Cranberry Lake H..~« 
Crystal Spring H ..6~b 

Cumberland . 

Elba House ^- 

Estes House ..^.•■- a^' 
Fair View House. . 19o 

Fenton House -07-a 

Flume Cottage i^i 

Forge House -"° 

Fouquet House ^g- 

Srv?PtH:(sVnL.)183 
Grove H.CLmigL.).. 115 
Grand View House... 89 
Green Mt. View H.. 31 
Hathorn's Golden Bh.20d 
Hiawatha House ua 



TAGB. , 

Hotel Ampersand.... 97 
Hotel Champlam.... 47 

Hotel Emmet i»' 

Hotel Flanagan • • ^ 
H-lWindsor(Ro'8'sPl) 54 
Indian Point House.. 61 

mterlaken. The 45 

keene Centre House. 83 
Lake Placid House . 9. 
Lake House (Schroon) 185 
take Pleasant House. 92 

Lakeside House 10^ 

Lake View House.... 35 

Lee House ^'^ 

Leland Cottage.. • 

Leland House 

Lewey Lake House 
Long Lake Hotel. 
Loon Lake House 
McCoy's Rustic L d e 105 

Mansion House 14» 

Martin's v.; «' ' 

SLTLak^Ho^use 

^?S;;iakeHx;tei.;: 

Moose River House 
Mt. Morris House.. 
, Mount Porter House 
Mountain View (N. 

Elba) ■,;■■•{; 

Mount'nView(brank- 

lin County) . . . • • • • ^^ 
North River Hotel. .. 190 
Ondawa House... . i»^ 
Paul Smith s i^^- ^ 

Re2is) ■ ■ t 

Pleasant View House 
Prospect House (Blue 
Mountain Lake)... 
Prospect H.(Schr'n). 
Pottersville Hotel .... 
[ Rainbow House. ... 



XI 



PAGE. 

Raquette Falls Hotel 111 
Raquette Lake Hotel. 201 
Eay Brook House.... 94 

Ralph's.. • ^^ 

RedsideCamp.. •••1^9-e 
Rockwells Hotel.... 1-8 

Richari 6 House ^^ 

Riverside House ^J7 



187 
183 
193 
114 
61 



96 
161 

56 

60 
. 89 
. 205 
109-K 

157 



25 



River View House... 178 
Rush Point Camp -. 203 
Rustic Lodge oo 

Root's... ..•• ••■••• '°' 
Sagamore (Long L.).. 114 
Strnubert's Cottage. 162 
St Hubert's Inn 162 

ISnrcffke House 99.0 
Schroon Lake House 185 
Stevens H.(L Placid 91 
Stevens H. (Verg'nes) 29 
StorrsHouse .^.■- .ej-E 
St. Regis Lake H....6--B 

Tahawus House ibu 

Taylor House i»^ 

Tromblee's.. 108 

TupperLakeH... 109-^ 
Undercliff Cottage... 
Van Ness House.... 
Wawbeek Lodge. . 

Wayside (Luzerne). 

Westport Inn 

Westside.... 

Wells House ...... 

Whiteface Mt. H. . . 

Windsor (Elizab'htn) 149 

Windsor (Schroon L.) 18^ 

WitheriU House^.^-- 5^ 

LAKE GEORGE HOTELS. 

FortWm. Henry 230 
Hundred Island H. 233 
Burleigh House.... 2.W 

Marion House 2^^ 

Pearl Point ^^'^ 



93 

32 

107 

178 

25 

93 

181 

62-D 



GATEWAYS TO THE ADIRONDACKS. 




!d M< 



50 cents) ; L OQ Lake, I2.40 



(Page reference refers to pages in •' The Adirondacks Illustrated.") 

Please to consider Mount 
Marcy the pivot on which mighty- 
hands turn around over the dial 
of the Adirondacks, and Platts- 
burgh will fairly represent I 
o'clock. Port Kent II, Westport 
ril. For convenience, there- 
fore, we will call Plattsburgh 
Gateway No. i, and let others 
follow in order as the hand turns 
the familiar way around the en- 
tire circle. Distances are given 
here in black figures and are 
reckoned from gateways in every 
instance unless otherwise ex- 
plained. Fares are also given 
from " gateways " or point speci- 

"O. 1, PLATTSBURGH, 

3hateaugay R. R. toDanne- 
. ' a, 70c,; Chazy Lake Sta- 
tion, |i.2o ; Lyon Mountain, 

$1.40 (stage to Ralph's a 
(stage to Loon Lak : 
House, socents); BlooiP- 
ingdale, $3.00 (stage w 
Crv-ral Spring House, 2 
cents ; stage to Pan 
Smith's, .$1.00); Saranac 
Lake, $3.35 stage i< 
Millar's, The Algonquin 
and Hotel Ampersand. 
50 cents each (page 96) ; 
stage to Lake Placid, 
$1.25 ; (page 89) ; stage 
to Saranac Inn, $1.50 
(page 105). 

. From Plattsburgh via 
Bi^ :h R. R. to Au Sa- 
ble Station, $1.00; stage 
(morning) to Keene Val- » '- 

ky (page 153) Wilmington, |2.oo (pages '^i"and 62-D) ; Lake Placid 
I3. 50 (page 89). 

NO. 2, PORT 
KENT, by K., A. C. 
Sz L. C. R. R. to Au 
Sable Chasm. (See 
pag'-s 33 to 45). Au 
Sable Station, (morn- 
ing ;age), $1.50; Wil- 
mix.{.^ton, $2.50 ; Lake 
Placid, $4.00 (page 





Gateways. 






N0.3,WESTP0RT, 

stage (connecting with 

all trains and boats), to 

Elizabethtown, $ i . oo ; 

(page 148). Stages from 

midday train and after- 
noon boat at Westport, 

run to Keene Valley, 

passing all hotels to St. 

Hubert's Inn. Fare, 

$2.50. (See p. 153). Keene Valley to Au Sable Lake morning and 

afternoon. Stage fare, 75c. Stages from Elizabethtown, morning, 

to Keen, |2. 50 ; Cascade House, $3.00 ; Adirondack Lodge, $4.50; 

Ames', $3.50 ; Lake Placid, $4. (See pages 83 to 94.) 
NO. 4, PORT HENRY, 

stage (evening) to Mineville, 

morning stage from Mine- 
ville to Root's, $1.50; (Tues- 
day, Thursday, and Satur- 
day,) to Newcomb, $3.00. 
NO. 5, CROWN POINT, 

C. P. 1. R. R. to Hammondville, 60c.; stage 

to Paradox, |i.io ; Schroon Lake, $2.10. 
NO. 6, ADDISON JUNCTION, stages 

meeting all trains run to Ticonderoga Vil- 
lage, 2 miles, 25c. (Hotel, Burleigh House.) 

Special to Schroon Lake, 20 miles, or Root's, 

thence to Long Lake, same as No. 4. 

FORT TICONDEROGA (station) ; train 

through Lake George to 

Caldwell. 
NO. 7, SARATOGA, 

to Luzerne, 69c. ; (page 

177) Riverside, $1.50; stage 

toChestertown,,$2.25; Pot- 

tersville, $2.50; head of 

Schroon Lake, (steamer), 

$3.25. (See page 180.) 

Saratoga to North Creek, 

$1.74 ; (page 189) stage to 

North River, $2.25; (page 

190), Indian Lake. $3.50; 

Blue Mountain Lake, $4-75 ; (page 193) 
Long Lake, $6. 25 ; (page 
1 14) through Blue Mt. and 
Raquette Lake to 
Forked Lake Carry, by 
steamer, $6.50. (Pages 
121 and 202.) 

NO. 8, FONDA, Rail- 
road to Northville, $1 00; 
stage to Sageville, 13.00, 
For "WoodhuU Lake and 
Bisby Chain, leave the 

R. W. & O. Railroad at Alder Creek Sta- 
tion, special to White Lake, 9 miles ; to Wood- 
hull Lake, 19 miles. 



Baldwin, steamer 





Gateways. 




NO. 9, BOONEVILLE. Stage daily 
to Moose River, 12 miles, $1.00. Rail- 
road to Minnelialia, 20 miles, i|2.oo. 
Steamer to Forge House, $3.00. Steam- 
er on Fulton Chain to head of Fourth 
Lake (steamer 12 miles. |i.oo.) Page 
206. 

NO. 10, LOWVILLE, stage to 
" Number Four," Beaver Lake, 18 miles (special 4 or 5 persons, 
$6.) To Stillwater, |i2. (Page 211.) 

NO. 11, CARTHAGE, Railroad to Lake Bonaparte, 17 miles, 
54 cents ; Oswegatchie, 39 miles, $1.17 ; Benson Mines, 44 miles, 
$1.32 ; Cranberry Lake overflow (trail) 48 miles ; Cranberry Lake 
House, guide's boat, 54 miles. (See page 213.) 

GOUVERNEUR, stage daily to Fine, 

25 miles, $1.63 ; row-boat up the Oswe- 
gatchie River to Cranberry Lake, (13 miles.) 
NO. 12, DE KALB JUNCTION, stage 
to Clarksboro, 22 miles, special conveyance 
to Cranberry Lake, 36 miles. (Page 213.) 
NO. 13, POTSDAM, stage daily to Col- 
ton, 75 cents ; South Colton, $1. To Stark, 
(Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 7 A.M.), 
$1.75 ; Sevey, $2.75 ; Childwold, $3- (Page 

ICQ- A.) 

NO. 14, MORIA, R.R. to St. Regis Falls, 
50 cents ; Santa Clara, 90 cents ; Spring 
Cove, $1.15 ; (Blue Mountain House, 4 

miles from Spring Cove, fare 75 cents ;) 

Paul Smith Station, $1.50: Paul 

Smith's (stage), $2. (Page 57.) Sar- 

anac Inn Station, $2 ; (Saranac Inn 

by stage ,$i) ; Childwold Station,$2. 50 ; 

(Childwold Park House, by stage, $1 ; 

page 109-C.) Tupper Lake Station, 
$2.50 ; (Wawbeek 
Lodge, by stage, $1.) 
Steamboat to Tup- 
per Lake House, 
$3.50; page 109-E. 

NO. 15, MA- 
LONE, stage (Mon- 
day, Wednesday and 
Friday) to Duane, 
$1.50; Loon Lake, 
$3. (Page 55). 

NO. 16, CHATEAUGAY, daily stage to the 
foot of Lower Chateaugay Lake, 50 cents. A 
steamer runs daily, making the excursion of the 
two lakes, $1. See pages 55 and 59 to 62. 









THE IDIRONMCKS. 




CHAPTER I. 
In General. 

N wings of thought swifter than the light- 
ning's flash we sweep away across the drowsy- 
earth, over smoke -polluted cities, sun- 
scorched meadows, burning plain and high- 
ways with their flaunting skirts of sand, nor 
rest until the fragrant odor of wild flowers 
and the dewy breath of forest trees come 
like incense wafted to us from below. 

Come with me up into a high mountain. 
I cannot show you " all the kingdoms of 
the world," — but "the glory of them." Over a rippling 
ocean of forests first, in long, swelling waves now rising, 
now sinking down into deep hollows ; here in grand moun- 
tains, crested as with caps of foam, there tormented by 
counter currents into wildly dashing shapes, like ocean bil- 
lows frozen by Divine command, their summit-glittering 
granite, their deep green troughs, gleaming with threads of 
silver and bits of fallen sky. 

Now the trees of the valley glide away behind us, then 
come dark spruce and pine and the sturdy balsam climbing 
the mountain-side — tall and graceful at first, but growing 
smaller as they rise, -gnarled and twisted, and scarce above 
the surface, sending their branches out close along the 
ground, their white tops bleached and ghastly, like dead 
roots of upturned trees, the hardy lichens still higher ; then 
comes naked rock, and we stand on the wind-swept summit 



2 The Adirondacks. 

of the monarch of the Adirondacks — '' Tahawus," the 
cloud-sphtter of the Indian. 

Around their chief, cluster the other great peaks — east, 
west, north, south, hmitless, numberless, a confused mass of 
peaks and ridges, crowding close up to the base of the one 
on which we stand, and receding in waves of green all down 
through the scale of color to its blue and purple edge. Pen 
cannot convey an idea of its sublimity ; the pencil fails to 
even suggest the blended strength and delicacy of the scene. 
The rude laugh is hushed, the boisterous shout dies out on 
reverential lips, the body shrinks down, feeling its own little- 
ness, while the soul expands, and, rising above the earth, 
claims kinship with its Creator, questioning not His 
existence. 

Standing on this, the highest point in the State of New 
York, 5,344 feet above tide, we will glance at the country 
around. The term, at first applied to this cluster of moun- 
tains, which occupy less than one-quarter of the region, has 
come by usage to mean the entire wilderness, an area of 
over 8,000 square miles of almost unbroken forest. The 
grand mountain region is in the center on the east, dropping 
off suddenly into Lake Champlain ; around it, and sweeping 
away to the west, is a vast, comparatively level plateau, 
nearly 2,000 feet above tide, with here and there a moun- 
tain peak overlooking the plain., the two regions differing in 
every respect, save in the dense forests that cover both. If 
you are given to muscular exercise, climbing and viewing 
nature from high places, choose the eastern portion. If con- 
stitutionally tired, or inclined to dream away the quiet hours, 
then go to the magnificent west, where lakes and streams 
are so closely connected that almost every mile of that vast 
tract may be traversed by boat, save short carries from one 
water system into another, or around some fall. Camping 
even is not necessary if you prefer hotel life, for there are 
but few wilderness routes that do not have halting places 
less than a day's journey apart. 



In General. 3 

The Adirondack wilderness, as known to the pubHc gen- 
erally, may be divided into three general divisions or sys- 
tems, which collectively entertain the great bulk of visitors, 
and are representatives of the whole, namely, the Saranac 
and St. Regis waters of Franklin county, whose natural gate- 
way is Plattsburgh and Port Kent ; the mountain region of 
Keene, North Elba and Lake Placid, in Essex county, with 
entrance at Westport ; and the Blue Mountain and Raquette 
waters, in Hamilton county, reached by way of the Adiron- 
dack railroad from Saratoga. 

Of these sections the first-mentioned has become the 
more widely celebrated as a region where fashion and fish- 
ing is admirably blended, and has its patrons who are 
looked for as regularly as the seasons. The second is less 
known in fact, but its grand mountains and lovely valleys 
have become familiar on the canvas of great painters ; while 
the Raquette region has an air of newness and morning 
freshness, as if just awakened from a long and refreshing 
sleep, and is making rapid strides in popular favor. Each 
section, while possessing something of the characteristics of 
the others, has its own individual attractions; and while 
connected by natural highways, over which the nomad often 
goes, they still to a considerable extent preserve their indi- 
viduality, and each is complete and sufficient unto itself. 

Among the less noted divisions are the Grass and Oswe- 
gatchie region, in St. Lawrence county, which probably 
contains the most game, because less visited; the Bea\^er 
and Moose river region, in Herkimer, somewhat tame, bat 
affording excellent hunting and fishing; and the Lake 
Pleasant region, in southern Hamilton county, all of them 
with more or less local interest and a patronage derived prin- 
cipally from the cities of Central and Western New York. 
Keene Valley is a favorite resort with artists. Raquette 
Lake has the most elaborate, and the Upper Saranac the 
greatest number of private camps occupied during the season. 



4 The Adirondacks. 

Places of entertainment, from the well-appointed hotel on- 
the border to the rude log-house and open camp of the 
interior, are found at intervals throughout the entire wilder- 
ness, all waiting with open doors to receive the stranger, the 
consideration being from $3 per day down to $5 per week ; 
for particulars concerning which see under heading of 
" Hotels," following index. 

A peculiarity of the Adirondack region is its freedom 
from rough or vicious characters. Evil finds nothing con- 
genial in its bright skies and pure, fresh atmosphere. Con- 
ventionalities that obtain at other resorts are not held 
binding here; the fact of actual presence is accepted as 
guaranty of the possession of those mutual sympathies and 
qualifications which here, at least, make the whole world kin, 
and makes it possible for gentlemen to wear blue shirts and 
old hats, and ladies to travel without male escort from one 
end of the wilderness to the other. Indeed, it is no uncom- 
mon thing for parties of ladies to make the tour of the 
woods, accompanied only by the necessary complement of 
guides to furnish motive power, spending day after day in 
their boat, and at night reaching one step farther in the 
extended system of hotels. 

Outfit. — Full dress is seldom seen, even at the mos' 
fashionable resorts, and is exceeded in absurdity only by th( 
conventional stage trapper, who occasionally bursts upoi 
the astonished wilderness in fringed buckskin, and ismarkec 
at once as a " fresh." Your right to enter the best societ^ 
will not be questioned because of dress. Clothing ordi 
narily worn is sufticient for all occasions, with perhaps tht 
addition of a soft felt hat and roomy walking shoes or boot 
for boat or tramp. 

Camp and Sporting Outfit, clothing, supplies, etc., ar 
given in a special chapter, with various suggestions ; how 
ever, a complete list of articles considered necessary or con 
venient should be made out, in advance of the time fo 
departure, by each individual; then, in committee of th' 



In General. 5 

whole, decide on what is really necessary or suitable, taking 
into consideration the nature of the trip and means of 
reaching the appointed camping ground. If it be not over- 
difficult of access, carry anything which will contribute to 
your reasonable comfort, in the way of blankets, clothing, 
etc. Do not sleep in the clothing worn during the day, if 
it can be avoided — it is a positive luxury to be able to 
make an entire change for night use. 

The gloriously healthful air of the wilderness will unques- 
tionably give you new Hfe and vigor, but it labors at a ter- 
rible disadvantage, if at the beginning your bed of boughs 
affords no rest; where sleep comes only with complete 
exhaustion, as is often the case in the first few nights of 
camp life, and where the early morning finds you pitiably 
weak and languid, and ready to move simply because motion 
is a relief to the poor bruised body and aching joints. 
" Roughing it " is grand in theory, and sounds well in after 
history, but is bad in practice and often impedes, if it does 
not entirely defeat the object for which it was undertaken. 
You are presumably out for pleasure, do not, therefore, 
make severe labor of it; have paid help sufficient to do 
camp work, if, at any time, inclination tempt you to watch 
the zenith from some mossy vantage ground, or to drift idly 
among the still waters, absorbing with newly awakened 
instincts the subtle lessons taught by nature. 

If your party can afford the expense, take your cook 
along. Guides, as a rule, can prepare an acceptable forest 
meal, and some are very skillful In that line, but the very 
qualities which contribute to make the successful guide — 
*'the mighty hunter" — often renders him indifferent to the 
quality of his food, and incapable of understanding the 
cravings of a delicate appetite ; at all events, carry a cook 
book. Camp fare is apt to become monotonous after a 
time, and although familiar with a hundred dishes, when 
brought face to face with the appalling necessity of prepar- 
ing a straight meal, your mind becomes a blank and you 



6 The Adirondacks. 

drop weakly back to the same old stew of yesterday — and 
the day before — and life becomes a burden. 

Expenses cannot be fairly estimated, varying so widely 
with the habits and requirements of different individuals. 
If you travel simply in channels having public conveyance, 
the cost may be accurately determined by referring to fares, 
etc., found under their a.ppropriate heading in this book. 
If you go outside the public lines of travel, or camp, you 
will require the service of a guide. 25 to 30 cents per day 
will supply the table with necessaries, and some luxuries 
even, for each person while in camp. 

Guides, terms for service, suggestions, etc., page 214. 

Hotels. — Information relating to hotels is gathered an- 
nually, and prices charged for board given with notice of 
house in " Hotel Directorv," at back of book, for which see 
special index, page vii. 

" Gateways " will lead you from circumference to centre 
of the wilderness, with line, distances and fares ; while under 
the heading of " railroads, steamboats and stages," will be 
found approaches and general information — for all of which 
see index. 

Trout, their habits and peculiarities, with suggestions aj 
to outfit, fishing, etc., is treated at length in chapter XIX. 
The article is from the pen of A. N. Cheney, of Glens 
Falls, an enthusiastic votary of the gentle art, and authority 
in the matter whereof he speaks, and gives, in readable 
shape more solid information ot use to those who would 
enjoy the same than a dozen of the ordinary fishing 
romances of the day, with their sensations, impi^'ssions, 
tingles, thrills and frills. 

Finally, bear in mind that this volume is designed to give 
its readers, in convenient sha} e, information of general 
interest to the ninety and nine concerning points and places, 
roads and regions visited by them, with hints and sugges- 
tions of the deeper mysteries of camp and trail that may 



In General. 



serve to pilot the one-hundredth to points where the inteUi- 
gent guide becomes an absolute necessity, and beyond which 
direction in book form would confuse, rather than instruct. 
For the sake of clearness, therefore, we have omitted descrip- 
tion of the multitude of minor lakes, ponds, streams and 
trails which duplicate each other over the entire wilderness, 
and which cannot be followed without the aid of an experi- 
enced guide. To those who would have a comprehensive 
idea of the whole region, it is hoped the map, designed to 
supplement the information contained herein, will be a wel- 
come companion until it can be safely laid aside for the more 
specific knowledge of the guide, whose office neither book 
nor map can ever fill. 

As the map of the wilderness is introduced, it may not be 

entirely uninteresting to ex- 
plain its manner of build- 
ing. A large portion of the 
great Adirondack region has 
never been surveyed with 
chain and rod, and probably 
will not be for years to come, 
but the rapid development 
of portions and the grow, 
ing importance of the 
whole as a summer resort 
makes necessary a map made 
specially to meet the re- 
quirements of tourist and 
sportsman. 

In its construction, all available sources of information 
have been brought into requisition. Important points 
outside the wilderness proper were determined in 
accordance with official surveys, and connected with 
the mountains of the interior, whose principal peaks 
were accurately located by triangulation made expressly 




MINIATURE SKETCH OF MAP. 



8 The Adirondacks. 

for this work. Access has also been had to important sur- 
veys made under State patronage and by private parties, 
which are now, for the first time, given to the pubUc in map 
form. In addition to this absolutely reliable material, draw- 
ings of small sections on an extended scale, covering in the 
aggregate the entire region, were sent in duplicate to men 
familiar with the various localities for correction, and were 
made as full and complete as possible — careful attention be- 
ing given to proportion and distance — with wild trails, car- 
ries, ponds and streams, many of which are now for the first 
time laid down on any map. Reduced to an uniform scale 
by photography, the result, it is believed, approaches per- 
fection as nearly as can be, short of actual trigonometrical 
survey. It gives altitudes, as determined by late measure- 
ment ; the location of all hotels and principal camps, with 
roads leading thereto ; shows distance in figures on roads, 
trails and streams, and indicates also the nature of the latter 
in important instances. All roads within its limits are care- 
fully laid down, the leading ones distinguished from those 
less important by being in solid black fine, and altogetheir 
showing, by their number or entire absence in places, the 
cultivated or wilderness nature of that particular region. 

To the gathering, compilation and reduction of the mass 
of material made use of, and its final redrawing for the 
engraver the entire autumn and winter of 1879 were given 
and finally, with a feeling of tenderness which can be 
appreciated only by those who, in a labor of love, have seen 
its object growing under their hands from day to day until 

completion, it was sent forth for such welcome as it miejht 
find. 

Since its completion in 1879, as above, annual editions 
have been issued, revised, and corrected, to keep pace with 
the changes in road and trail, and for the addition of camp 
or hotel in this rapidly-growing region. 



CHAPTER II 



Narrative. 

ING up the curtain to low, sweet music, the 
music of a September night, the blending of the 
myriad voices of the swamp into one long mono- 
tone, that seems to make you, wherever you 
stand and listen, its center. The scene is a dark 
waste of water, up out of which grow reeds 
and coarse grasses, that sway back and forth 
with the surging waves ; over at the west is a 
low range of bluffs ; on the east are mountains; 
near by, dusky white strips run here and there, 
beyond which a broader one reflects the 
cloudy sky, dark bodies are moving slowly 
along and lights twinkle as they pass to and 
fro ; beyond, and to the south, a high hill rises up, belted with 
strings of stars ; at its base they hang in clusters ; they sepa- 
rate and pass up and down, are swung in circles, disappear and 
appear again in a most curious manner, and faintly comes the 
voices of the boatmen, the drivers, the lock-tenders, and the 
busy hum of the distant village. At the north, where the 
western wall comes down, the solid rock is notched out, ovei 
which rises the rocky crests of a mountain range, while away 
beyond winds the marsh-embordered rock-hemmed waters of 
Lake Champlain. 

A low, rumbling sound comes from the south, then the solid 
wall that shuts us in on that side seems riven asunder, and from 
out the ^arth, with breath of flame, and eve of fire gleaming 




TO The Adirondacks. 

out ahead, thunders the night express. Across the manh, 
it comes, bringing in its train a host of lesser lights, and 
with a shriek that dashes sharply and is broken into a con- 
fused din of echoes, it plunges into the northern wall, through 
the narrow cut to the other side, and with the hiss of escaping 
steam, the noisy clanging of its beli, the rattling of iron rods 
ind links, the trembling, jerking and swaying of the long 
coaches, as the brakes are drawn hard against the moving 
wheels ; then with the dying roar of its subsiding power, the 
iron monster rests at the end of its journey. Just for the mo- 
ment we feel the hush. 

*' the rest of the tide between the ebb and the flow/* 



Then the nature of the sounds change, the quick, sharp 
words of command, of shouting and confusion, the shut- 
fling of feet, as streams of life pour out from the various 
coaches, and convergirg, flow over the broad plank on to 
the boat that has been waiting to re( eive them ; there is no 
need of asking the way ; it is plain to all, for while on the left 
is nothing but darkness and a dingy, uninviting pile of build- 
ings, on the right rises a great mass of white, with moving 
forms and flashing light ; windows bright, with stained glass 
and frosted silver, rising tier on tier, begirt with beams 
and rods of iron, and above all. coming up from the fires be- 
low, wave banners of flame, whose fiery particles separating, 
dance away and are lost in the darkness. Whew ! What a 
storm, not a thunder storm exactly, although there are indi- 
cations of the sulphurous in the language sometimes heard, but 
a shower of baggage ; it rains trunks, boxes, satchels, bun- 
dles, bags, from the car which has been brought to a stop 
directly in front of the gang-plank, and a double stream of 
trucks, drawn and propelled by stalwart men, go down undei 
huge loads, and, coming up empty, run and wheel and dodge 
about, appearing always on the point of, but never actually 
getting run over. 

Through all the confusion the man who seems to have the 
least to do stands quietly by the rail, seeing every thing, but 
savinor nothing, unless occasionally to give a command in a 
xfW tone ; then, as the last truck load is on the move, he 



Under Weigh ii 

touches a cord at his hand, a bell up in the pilot house tinkles, a 
few quick strokes on the big bell follows, the last man rushes 
over the plank, which is pulled aboard, and the great hawsers 
are cast oflf ; then, again, the little bell, up where the pilot stands 
signifies that the boat is from thence out under his control, 
and he is responsible for her safety. Now, down along the 
wires to the engine-room the message goes ; we hear the long 
hollow breathing of the steam as it rushes into the cylinder; 
the ponderous beam above tips slowly on its center; the 
wheels seem stepping on the water as they revolve ; the great 
mass swings out into the channel, and moves away through 
the night like a great pearl surrounded by a luminous atmos- 
phere. A little shining world all alone by itself.* 

Thus we saw it one night in 
the autumn of '73. We means 
the professor and myself. Who 
the professor is, or what he pro- 
fesses, doesn't matter, as long 
as this is a non-professional 




trip ; but it may be of interest 
considering the field selected 
for our observations to know 
that the professor is not actually 
stupendous, either in length, 
breadth or thickness, and not 
particular about his diet; perish the thought I He simply 
abstains from the absorption of that mysterious compound 
known as hash, on account of the uncertainty of its origin. 
Revolts at sight of sausages, as it is unpleasantly suggestive 
of a dear little dog that he once loved. Can't endure cream 
in his coffee, because it "looks so, floating round on top," 
and whose heart bleeds and appetite vanishes if an unlucky 
fly chances to take a hot bath in his tea. To these peculi- 
arities, add a disposition to see the fun in his own foilornness, 
and with boyishness dyed in the wool, the professor stands 
before you. As for the author of this, perhaps the least said 
the better. He hasn't the heart to say any thing bad, and a 
determination to confine himself strictly to facts, interferes 
Bomewhat with the glowing eulogy struggling to find vent 

'Tbe boat is now taken at Ticonderoga, making 4ay trips only, leaving PkttaiMiixIi in 
the morning and returning in the afternoon 



12 The Adirondacks. 

suffice it to say, that nature was very lavish in the bestowal 
of longitude, although not noticeably so in regard to latitude, 
giving also a disposition to dare, and a physical develop- 
ment capable of enduring a vast amount of arduous rest 
Going — the dainty professor and ease-loving writer, enthu- 
siastic sportsman, with neither gun, rod, umbrella or other 
instrument of death, armed only with sketch and note-book, 
ind hearts to drink in the glories of the great wild woods 
— to the mountains for health and strength to frames not 
over strong. 

We found ourselves on board the " Vermont," the largest 
of the Champlain steamers ; and as it swung out into the 
channel, went out forward, up odd little pieces of stairway 
and canvass side hills ; ducked under and climbed over iron 
rods and groped along in the darkness on the hurricane deck 
to the pilot-house. 

As we entered, our eyes becoming accustomed to the dark- 
ness, made out the form of Rockwell, the chief pilot, with 
two assistants, wrestling with the many-spoked wheel, which 
throbbed and trembled as they forced it over to one side 
while the lights ahead seemed to swing swiftly past as wt 
«wept around a sharp bend in the channel. 

A quick, low word of command, and the chain rattled and 
the wheel spun around like lightning as they jumped awa^ 
from it. 

"Now," said the pilot. 

Six hands pattered on the polished spokes, and the aif 
seemed full of clawing, jumping shadows. 

"Over with her." 

The wheel creaked and snapped with the strain brought to 
bear on it ; the lights away out ahead, that had passed acrosf 
to the right, now raced wildly back to the left, and we circled 
around in the darkness, out of which, into the circle of light 
that surrounded us, came reedy shores and low lines of 
bushes, seeming almost to brush against us as we passed. 

"Steady now. Good evening, gentlemen." 

The last half of the sentence, while it was friendly, was evi- 
dently intended as a sort of reconnoissance. It had inquiry 
in it, and said plainly, " I want to hear the sound of youi 
voice." 



The Pilot. 13 

We said, " Good evening." 

* Up a little — steady — let her run — Oh, yes ; I didn't 
recognize your voice — hard over that Hght's out again — 
you are a little hoarse ; ought to take something for that." 

** We were ; a trip to the mountains ; " and he said it was 
an excellent plan — ]et her chaw ; the reaction will clear her 
— .wished he could — luff a point — among the grand things 
— said she was light aft, and clawed to starboard ; asked if 
we could fully indorse Tyndall's theory of nebular hegira ; 
thought the Greek slave a perfect figure ; said she sucked 
mud through here, sometimes, and they had to be careful 
of her flues ; wanted to know if we had given the evolement 
of solar faculae much thought ; descended with Darwin to 
our remote progenitors ; gyrated among the wheeHng con- 
stellation ; floated through eternity ; touched on the crea- 
tion ; paddled around with Noah ; got lost with the children 
of Israel ; skittered along down through the dark ages ; said 
it wasn't going to rain, which suggested Sodom and Gomor- 
rah ; admired Joan of Arc — said she carried an awful head 
of steam, but her boilers were good ; wanted our opinion as 
to the probable origin of creative energy and of the cohesive 
materialism of latent force. Shades of Egypt ! the professor 
wilted, and we had to admit that Moses himself couldn't 
have taken us out of the scientific wilderness, and Rockwell 
thought Moses wasn't much of a pilot anyway. 

Thus he mixes art, science and physics while demonstrat- 
ing perfection in navigation ; peering out into the darkness, 
seeming to feel rather than see the channel ; now circUng 
around a lamp hung out as a guide, then away toward others 
that seem to pass and repass each other, as we sway to and 
fro, where in places a deviation the width of the boat to the 
right or left would bring it on the muddy banks ; at times 
seeming to hang out over the reeds, anon waking a whole 
swarm of hissing, chuckling echoes as we run close under a 
rocky wall ; then onward, into broader strips of water, under 
the frowning promontory of Ticonderoga; then -vwe went 
below. 




CHAPTER III. 

Lake Champlain. 

HE first white sporting man that ever visited 
the Adirondacks was Samuel de Champlain, a 
Frenchman, who, in 1609, joined a company of 
native tourists on a gunning expedition to the 
southern borders of the future State park. 
where he fell in with a party of Iroquois and 
succeeded in bagging a satisfactory number. 
Samuel, besides being an enthusiastic sports- 
man, was of a vivacious, happy disposition, as 
witness his felicitous description of the mannei 
in which he, at the first shot, brought down 
three out of four Aborigines, who broke cover, 
then pursued and killed some others; he 
should, however, receive no credit as a marksman, for he 
used a beastly arm called an "arquebus," a remote progeni- 
tor of the terrible blunderbuss — a shot-gun, which same, I 
think, all will agree is beneath the dignity of a true sports- 
man to point toward such game. After this adventure, 
which happened the same year that Hendrick Hudson sailed 
up the river that now bears his name, and eleven years 
before the original pilgrims landed on Plymouth rock, he 
returned home and wrote an interesting account of the 
affair, calling the sheet of water explored after himself — Lake 
Champlain. Just two centuries after his passage in a canoe, 
the first steamboat was launched on the lake. When he came, 
the Indians called it Cam adtre quaranU, spelled in various 
ways, and said by learned authorities who copy it from some 
one else, to mean "the lake that is the gate of the country." 
By the early French who did not choose to recognize Cham- 
plain's right to the name, it was known as Mer^ Us Iroquois, 01 
"Iracosia." A book published in 1659 speaks of it as "the 
lake of Troquois, which, together with a river of the sinwi 



The Adirondacks. 

name, running into the river of Canada, is sixty or seventy 
leagues in length. In the lake are four fair islands, which are 
low and full of goodly woods and meadows, having store of 
game for hunting. Stagges, Fallow Dear, Elks, Roe Bucks, 
Beavers, and other sorts of beasts." In shape it is very like 
a long, slim radish, with Whitehall at the little end ; then 
comes the long root and outbranching river fibers. At Bur- 
lington, quite a respectable radish, then blotches of rock and 
island, and, beyond that, the leaves spreading out on either 
side and toward the North. 

On the east is Vermont, sweeping away from the lake m a 
broad, cultivated plain, then gradually ascending to the ridges 
of the Green mountains ; along the southern and central por- 
tion of the lake, the rocky western shores step down to the 
water's edge and backward, rising up peak on peak the high- 
est, misty with distance or hidden by the clouds that gatnei 
around ; then wild, broken and grand, the Adirondack moun- 
tains. Here and there are little bits of cultivated land and 
breaks in the mountain-gateways to the wilderness, then as 
you near Burlington, they fall away back into the interior, and 
a level, well-cultivated country presents itselC 

According to the Uaited States coast survey, the distance 
from Whitehall to Fort Montgomery is 107 J miles; its 
greatest width across, from the outlet of Ausable river, 12 J 
miles, and greatest depth (at a point i| miles south-east of 
Essex landing) 399 feet. Measuring down into Missisquoi 
bay, on the east side, extending into Canada, and separated 
from the oudet by Alburgh Tongue, the extreme length of 
the lake maybe found at about 118 miles. Its elevation 
above tide is 99 feet. 

It contains a number of beautiful islands, principally near 
the north end, the two largest known respectively as North 
and South Hero, and collectively as Grand Isle, a county of 
Vermont. 

The New York & Canada R. R., extending along the 
west shore of the lake, is the missing link in the air line 
chain between New York and Montreal, supplied by the 



IIMI 



^" 



«^ 



m 



'/I 



White PI ALL. 17 

Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, in 1875, and m con- 
nection with the Rensselaer & Saratoga Railroad and 
Hudson River at the south, and a section of the Grand 
Trunk from the Canada line north, is the main artery of 
travel between the two great cities. At various points, rail 
or stage routes diverge, leading to the central portions of the 
wilderness. 

Whitehall is at the head of Lake Champlain; 219 miles 
north of New York, 78 from Albany. As we break through 
the ledges and approach from the south, the valley spreads 
out toward the east in a fertile plain ; at the right, toward the 
north, is quite a mountain, girded with outcropping ledges 
that run up from the east at an angle of about thirty degrees, 
and are broken off precipitously on the west ; all along this 
front, houses cling one above another like rows of martins' 
boxes, and wooden stairways run zigzag up the sides, which, 
if bought by the acre, would bring the most measured per- 
pendicularly. Climbing the stairway we look down on the 
business portion of the village, close, compact and city-like 
below and thinning out gradually up the hill on the west. 
Going still higher, a pathway is found leading to the summit 
which is comparatively clear and affords a wonderfully fine 
mountain view for a little exertion. 

Whitehall was originally called Skeenesborough, after CoL 
Philip Skeene, who accompanied Abercrombie in 1758 ; waa 
wounded in his attack on Ticonderoga and, after Amherst's 
victorious advance in the following year, was appointed com- 
mandant at Crown Point, at which time he projected the set- 
tlement. In 1765, he obtained a grant of the township and, 
in 1770, took up his residence here. On the breaking out ol 
the Revolution he took sides with the Royalists, accompanied 
Burgoyne in his expedition against Ticonderoga and was 
captured with him at Saratoga ; his property was confiscated 
by act of Legislature in 1779. 

Wood Creek, that fi-om its very head, has flown sleepily 
along, seems to have awakened suddenly and with a quick 
start, a joyous little run, a little foam and a little racket 
plunges over the rocks, and dies out in the muddy lake at 



1 8 The Adirondacks. 

our feet. Close to the falls the canal boats and gmall steam- 
ere come, and line the banks of the bayou-like lake that leads 
away to the north through what seems a basin scooped out 
of the mountains, its marshy bed filled here and there with 
pieces of "made" land on which are steam mills, and long 
piles of lumber, representing the principal business of the 
place. 

At Whitehall, the train divides, — a part going east and north 
via Castleton and Rutland, the remainder north, down along 
the principal street, through the tunnel, out at the north edge 
of the village to the lumber district, and across the marsh- 
bottomed basin toward a notch cut out of its farther rim. 

Just before entering the rock-cut alluded to, we see on the 
east a short double crook, in the narrow channel, known as 
the Fiddler's Elbow, where the large steamers were com- 
pelled to send a line ashore and " warp " round into a proper 
position to proceed; here, under water, are the hulks of some 
of the vessels engaged in the battle of Plattsburgh, in 1814. 
On the high point of rocks just over and slightly to the north 
of the Elbow is Fort Putnam, where the old colonial general, 
— Israel — ^lay in ambush, waiting for the French and Indians 
under the command of Marin. 

The steamboat dock, formerly the northern terminus of the 
road, with its half-demolished sheds and old elevator, is, par- 
adoxically speaking, left on the right as the train skims over 
the surface of the marsh on the long trestle, straight as the 
arrow flies, for over a mile, and over the draw at the outlet 
of South bay, along which Dieskau led his men to attack 
Fort Edward, failing in which they turned toward Lake 
George and fell in with Col. Williams on that memorable 
8th of September, 1755. 

Winding in and out we continue along the west shore 
breaking through rocky points and cuts, where the clay has 
been sliced down and removed like huge chunks of cheese, 
revealing on their face horizontal strata that must at some 
time have been the bed of the lake. On the east, at inter- 
vals, are the odd, little light houses and posts where lanterns 
were hung to mark the tortuous channel. Low reedy islands 



TiCONDEROGA. 19 

and points float outward from the shores, and the grand, 

rocky gateways opening up as we advance, reveal vistas of 
wondrous beauty, strips of far-reaching water, and the blue 
of distant mountain peaks. Between the solid points we 
cross on trestle work or made land, and which same openings 
have proved a delusion and a snare to the unfortunate con 
tractor doomed to wrestle with them. 

Twenty-two miles from Whitehall, our rope of travel is 
divided in three strands, the one at the left branching off 
around Mount Defiance to the foot of Lake George, the mid- 
dle continuing on by rail along the west shore, and the remain- 
ing one proceeding in nearly the same direction by steamboat, 
touching at the principal points by the way. * 

Fort Ticonderoga is 24 miles from Whitehall on a bold 
promontory between the waters of Lake Champkin and the 
outlet of Lake George. 

Here were enacted the principal events in the play of the 
ake ; here savage tribes contended for the country on either 
nand ; here three great nations struggled for the prize of a 
continent, and precious blood flowed like water for this, the 
key to the "gate of the country," by its position elected to 
become historic ground ; as such, let us glance briefly in 
passing. 

Claimed by the Hurons and Algonqulns on the north, and 
the Five Nations, on the south, Lake Champlain was perma- 
nently occupied by neither, but the gateway between two 
sections that were continually at war with each other, the 
bloody middle ground over which each party in its turn swept 
carrying ruin in its path. This had driven all who would 
have occupied it beyond the mountains, and the lovely shores 
remained in unbroken solitude. Thus Champlain found it 
when, in July, 1609, he sailed south with the Indians from 
the St. Lawrence to make war upon their southern enemies, 
and " encountered a war party of the Iroquois on the 29th of 
the month, about ten o'clock at night, at the point of a cape 
nrhich puts out into the lake on the west side." They each 
retired until the morning, when a battle ensued. Champlain 



20 IHE ADIRONDACKS. 

was kept out of sight until they marched to the attack. H* 
says: "Ours commenced, calling me in a loud voice, and, 
making way for me, opened in two and placed me at theii 
head, marching about twenty paces in advance until I was 
within thirty paces of the enemy." 

" The moment they saw me they halted, gazing at me and 
I at them. When I saw them preparing to shoot at us, 1 
raised my arquebus, and aiming directly at one of the three 
chiefs, two of them fell to the ground by this shot, and one ol 
their companions received a wound, of which he died after- 
ward. I had put four balls in my arquebus. Ours, in witness- 
ing a shot so favorable to them, set up such tremendous 
shouts that thunder could not have been heard ; and yet there 
was no lack of arrows on one side and the other. The Iro- 
quois were greatly astonished, seeing two men killed so 
instantaneously, notwithstanding they were provided with 
arrow-proof armor, woven of cotton-thread and wood. * * < 
They lost courage, took to flight, and abandoned the field and 
their fort, hiding themselves in the depths of the forests, 
whither pursuing them I killed some others. * ♦ ♦ Tha 
place where the battle was fought is 43 degrees some minutei 
latitude, and I named it Lake Champlain."* Ticonderoga if 
\yA degrees north latitude and probably the cape referred to 
•which puts out into the lake on the west side." 

The French claimed the country by virtue of Champlain's 
discovery, and in 1731, while at peace with Great Britain, they 
advanced to Crown Point and erected Fort St. Frederick. 

The English claimed this territory by right of purchase and 
treaty with the Five Nations, and feeling that something 
must be done to prevent further encroachments of the French 
on British soil. General Johnson was sent, in 1755, to drive 
them away, going by way of Lake George, where he halted 
for a few days, when Baron Dieskau made a dash around 
French mountain, defeated Col. Williams' party and attacked 
the main army, in which he was defeated. He then returned 
to Ticonderoga and began the erection of a fort which he 
c^Vri "CartUonr 

* Documentary History of New York. 

t Ur. G. F. Bixby, whose researches among historical matters relating- to the 
Champlain VaUcy has made him an authority, in a paper read before tlie N. Y, 
State Hisiori. ;il Society in 1889, brought evidence to show that '* the cape ' re- 
ferred to by Champlain is the one on which Crown Point ruins now stand. The 
evidence was accepted by the Society as conclusive. 



TiCONDEROGA. 21 

In 1757, it was occupied by Montcalm, who marched thence 
to the capture of Fort William Henry. 

In 1758, Abercrombie made his unsuccessful attack on the 
Did French lines, which resulted in his total defeat, with a 
loss of nearly 2,000 killed and wounded. 

The following year Amherst entrenched before the lines, 
and the French, feeling that they could not successfully resist 
him, abandoned and set fire to the works, which the English 
took possession of in the morning. They then advanced on 
Fort St. Frederick, the French retreating down the lake ; their 
hold on Chaniplain gone forever. 

Amherst repaired and enlarged the works at Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point, on a scale of great magnificence, but never 
a shot from the frowning embrasures was directed against an 
approaching foe. Peace between the nations soon followed 
and the forts were allowed to fall into a state of ill repair and 
were poorly garrisoned when the revolution broke out. 
Crown Point had only a sergeant and 12 men and Ticon- 
deroga 50 men all told, when in the gray of the morn- 
ing of the loth of May, 1775, Ethan Allen and 83 of his 
"Green Mountain boys," stole in through the wicket gate 
and demanded its surrender '• in the name of the Great 
Jehovah and the Continental Congress." Crown Point was 
on the same day taken possession of by a party of Allen's 
men under Seth Warner, and soon after a sloop of war was 
captured by Benedict Arnold, by which the colonists gained 
command of the lake. 

The following year Arnold, in command of a small flotilla, 
was defeated near the Four Brothers* islands by General Carl- 
ton, who advanced as far south as Crown Point, then retired 
into Canada. 

In 1777 there came sweeping from the north the conceited, 
the pompous, the brilliant Burgoyne with 7,500 men and laid 
siege to Ticonderoga. St. Clair, then in command had barely 
sufficient troops to man the principal works, and when the 
English took possession of Mount Defiance, from which they 
could drop shot right over into the fort, he decided to aban- 
\<>u it and did so on the night of July 4th ; all the stores that 
ciMihi be taken were removed, guns were spiked and at mid 



^2 The Adirondacks. 

night a dusky throng moved away across the chain bridge 

Unfortunately for the Americans, a house on Mount Inde- 
pendence was set on fire and the light revealed the fugitive 
army to the watchful enemy, who immediately pursued. The 
greater part retreated toward Castleton and were followed, en- 
gaged and beaten ; the English, however, suffered terribly, it 
is said, losing ten to one of the Yankees. The rest moving 
up the lake toward Whitehall were pursued by the British 
who broke through the chain bridge and reaching the head 
of the lake almost as soon as they, captured most of the 
stores and ammunition, the men retreating to Fort Ann ; after 
this Burgoyne moved south to Saratoga, where his march ol 
triumph was changed to one of defeat, for he found the 
Gates too strong for him to pass. 

After •• Saratoga " the British retired into Canada, but in 1780 
the old fort was again occupied by the troops under General 
Haldiman, at which time occurred those bloodless battles of 
diplomacy, where Allen plotted treason with such con- 
summate sagacity, that his country's enemies rested on their 
arms and '* peace reigned throughout her borders." 

Then came another enemy, silent, but resistless as the 
march of time. Rain and sunshine, frosts to rack and tem- 
pests to beat upon the old walls, until they totter and fall 
away, disappearing, one by one, and pointing to the time 
when naught shall remain but the name it bears, and that 
uncertain in the mists of the past. 

"Ticonderoga"* — the generally accepted extract and 
boiled down result of over a dozen different Indian names, 
all, however, having something the same sound — as Tunde- 
roga, Cheonderoga — meant to them the coming together ^ or 
meeting of waters,^ instead of the generally accepted version 
of •• Sounding waters." 

Carillon, the name given it by the French, meaning music, 
racket, a chime, may have been suggested by the " Sounding 
waters " near by. 

The old battery on the bluff, at the steamboat landing, it 



t ColdM, ty«s. PowatO, 1774. 



Crown Point. 23 

said to have been the original Carillon. Back on the higher 
ground are the barrack walls, trenches, two bastions, and the 
best preserved portion of the ruins — a bomb-proof room, 
which some people say was the magazine, while other author- 
ities contend that it was the humble but equally necessary 
bakery. On the east, by the side of the road, is the old fort 
well. Leading from the south-east corner of the parade to- 
ward this, is the covered way, through which Ethan Allen 
went in the gray of the morning, in 1775. On the west is 
Mount Defiance. Between it and the fort the outlet of Lake 
George enters Lake Champlain. Opposite the point at the 
south-east, the lake is narrowed down by the near approach 
of Mount Independence, which was also fortified while St. 
Clair held command. Between the two points ran the chain 
or floating bridge. 

The lake here turns toward the north, thus washing three 
sides of the promontory. Among the oaks, just west of the 
tunnel, is the old French lines, reaching over the ridge and 
nearly across the peninsula. The trenches and embankments 
are clearly defined, as are also the outlines of several re- 
doubts, cast up at about the same date. Across the locust- 
covered flat, just north of the ruins, from a point near the 
drawbridge, lay Ethan Allen's route in 1775; and on the 
plain, near Addison Junction, according to the best author- 
ities, occurred the encounter between Champlain's party and 
the Iroquois. 

Crown Point is it miles north of Ticonderoga. Here, 
on the shore, are the furnaces of the 
Crown Point Iron Company, and the ter- 
minus of a narrow-gauge railway, which 
extends back 13 miles to iron mines at 
Hammondville, 1,300 feet above the lake. 
Thence, by stage, to Schroon Lake. 




24 The Adirondacks. 

Crown Point Ruins are about six miles north of Crown 
Point landing. The lake is here narrowed down by the land 
extending from the west on which the ruins stand, its point 
marked by a stone light-house, Chimney Point approaches 
from the east side. Beyond the light-house, at the narrowest 
place in the passage, are the scarcely visible remains of Fort 
St. Frederick, built by the French in 1731. This point be- 
came a noted trading post, where the savages came to ex- 
change peltry for civilized fire-water and other necessaries. 
Under the protecting guns of the old fort it developed into a 
village of 1,500 inhabitants, the remains of lines of cellars and 
flagged walks, extending back toward the west, still showing 
signs of its old-time prosperity. 

The ruins of Crown Point proper are seen farther over at 
the west, as the boat passes through the narrow opening to 
the broad lake. It was commenced by Amherst in 1759, ^"^ 
completed at an expense of over ten million dollars. The 
extensive earth-works, and the walls of the barracks, still in a 
good state of preservation, indicate the strength and extent of 
the fortification, from which, however, no gun was ever fired 
at an approaching foe. Dr. Bixby designates the shore of the 
peninsula west of the ruins as the probable site of Champlain's 
battle with the Iroquois in 1609, given in the explorer's own 
words on page 14. 

Fort Frederick (landing) is just north of the light-house. 
A board walk extends from the dock back to the ruins. Re- 
f eshment rooms, a public pavilion, etc., have been built here 
1 y the Champlain Transportation Company, for accomodation 
and entertainment of excursion parties that may land here. 

Port Henry, two miles north-west of Crown Point Ruins^ 
is exceedingly picturesque, 
with a number of elegant 
private residences, occu- 
pied by the iron magnates 
of that section. 

The Lake Champlain and Moriah R. R. is seven miles 
/)ng, extending from Port ITenrv to the ore beds at Mineville, 




We ST PORT. 



25 




1,300 feet above. The grade at one point ,s 256J feet to the 
mile. The average is 2 1 1 feet. It contains three "Y's," 
where the nature of the ascent renders a curve impracticable. 
Mineville is the centre of the mining operations of the region, 
and is a wonderful revelation to the novice in mining scenes. 
The Chever Ore Bed is two miles north of Port Henry, near 
the lake shore. The Adirondack Springs are situated on the 
mountain slope, midway between Westport and Port Henry. 
Westport is a pretty little village, on a deep bay, setting 
into the western 
shore, fifty miles 
north of Whitehall. 
It is the natural gate- 
way into the moun- 
tains, 77V; Elizabeth- 
town a n d Keene 

Valley (see page 149), and possesses attractions of its own 
that recommend it strongly to the summer visitor. 

The Pleasant View House, at the depot, is open the year 
round, and affords a convenient stopping-place for parties 
arriving by night trains, or who may not choose to go to the 
village; capacity thirty. Rates, $2 per day ; $8 to $10 per 
week. C. A. Fordham, proprietor. 

The Richards House has been long established, and has 
a host of friends. It is situated at the northern border of the 
village, overlooking the picturesque shore that circles toward 
the north, and terminates in the point where the luckless 
steamer Champlain was wrecked in 1875, The immediate 
surroundings are pleasant, the accommodations of the hotel 
proper being increased by its annex, the quaint, historic Man- 
sion House, that has done duty in old times as a hotel; being 
in fact, the first one built at Westport, and now refitted for 
the use of summer guests. The requirements of boating and 
fishing have not been overlooked, and everything necessary 
for the sport can be secured at the office. Saddle horses also 
and comfortable rigs for shore rides or more extended trips 



26 The Adirondacks. 

into the wilderness can be had at fair prices from the hotel 
livery. The proprietor is really what all hotel men are sup- 
posed to be — affable, courteous, and obliging ; and by sheer 
pluck and enterprise has built up a thriving business. Ac_ 
commodations are here offered for 75 guests. Rates, $2 per 
day; $8 to $12 per week. M. A. Clark, proprietor. 

The V/estport Inn stands on the brow of an abrupt em- 
inence a hundred feet above the lake, and overlooks a wilder- 
ness of orchard and shrubbery, the picturesque steamboat 
landing, and the great sweeping amphitheatre of the hillsides 
that lead away to right and left in the circling shore of the 
bay. The house without is very attractive, with broad piazzas 
and plenty of shade. Within, it is neat, well, even richly, fur- 
nished and supplied with bath-rooms, electric bells, etc. The 
table is spoken of in the highest terms of praise, the service is 
kindly and efficient. Accommodations in the "Inn" and its 
cottages are sufficient for seventy guests. There is a pure 
water supply and perfect drainage. The drives up and down 
along shore or westward into the mountains offer great variety 
with every varying change of scene, and excellent livery rigs 
may be secured here under the patronage of the house. It 
also offers the usual variety of boating and fishing facilities, 
with boats for sailing or for comfortable rowing in the shallow 
water and charming inlets along shore. There are bathing 
places also, with good bottom and convenient bath-houses. 
A circulating library is at the command of those who may not 
have provided themselves with desirable reading matter. The 
Post-office is but a few steps from the door, the telegraph of- 
fice ten minutes' drive distance. Omnibusses run to and from 
all trains and boats, and stages depart for the Adirondacks 
twice daily. The Inn will be under the management of Mrs. 
O. C. Danniell, late of " The Michewaug," Petersham, and 
Mrs. Henry C. Lyon, who rendered such efficient service here 
in 1889. 

Steamer Chateaugay, Capt. Baldwin, leaves Westport at 
7 A. M. daily, Sundays excepted, and touching at Cedar Beach, 
Essex, Burlington, Port K-nt, Biutif Point, Pfattsburgh, Gor- 



28 We ST PORT. 

don's and Adams', reaches North Hero at 12:20; returning, 
touches as above, and arrives at Westport 6:45. 

This boat belongs to the C. T. Co., and was launched at 
Shelburn Harbor, November i, 1887. It is 203 feet long, 
and 59 feet wide over all. Water line, 195 feet; beam, 30 
feet. The hull is of rolled steel plates, made from Chateau- 
gay ore, with a wrought iron frame, braced in the most sub- 
stantial manner, and provided with water-tight compartments. 
The engine is a vertical beam, jet condensing engine, 44-inch 
cylinder, 10 foot stroke. The paddle wheels are of the new 
"feathering" pattern, 23 feet in diameter. The boat draws 
four and a half feet of water, and will make 20 miles an hour. 

Steamer Vermont, Captain Rushlovv, is of the same line, 
is a graceful vessel, designed specially for pleasure travel. 
This boat leaves Plattsburgh at 7 a. m., touches at Bluff 
Point, Port Kent, Burlington, Westport, Port Henry, Fort 
Frederick and Crown Point, and reaches Fort Ticonderoga 
about noon, connecting there with trains for the south and for 
the steamer on Lake George, returning over the same route 
reaches Plattsburgh about 7 p. m. Steamboat and railroad 
tickets are interchangeable between Ticonderoga and Platts- 
burgh. 

The " Water Lily," a small steamer, runs from Westport 
to Vergennes daily on arrival of steamer Vermont from the 
south, returning in the morning to connect with the south- 
bound boat. The Water Lily is notable among steamboats 
as having a lady at the wheel, in the person of Mrs. Captain 
Danniels, who is said to be the first and only regularly li- 
censed lady pilot in the United States. It affords a delight- 
ful afternoon trip across the lake and up the picturesque Otter 
Creek to the city of Vergennes. Fare $1.00; round trip 
$1.50. This route forms an interesting link in the line of 
travel from Boston to the Adirondacks, and is deservedly 
growing in pubHc favor as it becomes better known. 

Vergennes, the eastern terminus of the Water Lily's trip, 
is eight miles back from the lake following the course of the 
river — which by the way is the longest stream in Vermont — 
although in an air-line but little more than half of that dis- 



Vergennes. 29 

tance. Vergennes is one of the oldest cities in New England, 
dating its organization back to 1789, and is celebrated as the 
smallest incorporated city in the country. It has a population 
of about 2,000 inhabitants, with all the honors and added 
dignity of a mayor and board of Aldermen. It stands on the 
hills sloping to the stream, its streets regularly laid out, at- 
tractive and picturesque in its New England simplicity. Its 
freedom from malaria is proverbial. It is healthful and de- 
lightful, while the quiet loveliness of its surroundings, with the 
grand outline of the Green Mountains on the east, and the 
Adirondacks across the lake at the west, offers a combination 
that is duly appreciated by the artist and the lover of restful 
nature. 

The Stevens House was the one thing needful to make 
this a desirable resort for those who enjoy the mixture of 
country air and freedom, with the pleasant and social advan- 
tages of a town and good hotel accommodations. The house 
is owned and under the personal management of Mr. S. S. 
Gaines, and ranks among the best in New England. It is in 
the centre of the city facing the park, and has accommoda- 
tions for about 100 guests. The proprietor possesses execu- 
tive abiUty that is felt on every side, showing itself in the neat- 
ness and order maintained throughout the establishment. 
There are very pleasant drives about the city, which may be 
extended indefinitely over the hills and through the valleys of 
this picturesque country. Guests of the hotel with their bag- 
gage are carried to and from train and boat for 25 cents 
the round trip. Telegraph, telephone, and express offices are 
in the house. Board costs from $8.00 to $12.00 per week. 

Passengers leaving Boston in the morning (Fitchburgh de- 
pot), reach Vergennes in the middle of the afternoon. Leav- 
ing New York in the morning, arrive in time for supper. 
Trains for New York and Boston, with sleeping car attached, 

pass Vergennes at about 9 p. m. 

******* 

Calamity Point is on the west, about two miles north of 
Westport. Here the steamer Champlain was wrecked in 




VIE\a(S ON THE NEV YORK AND CANADA RAILROAD 



BURLINUT^ON. 31 

1875 while running north on her regular nigHt trip The im- 
mediate cause of the disaster has never been explained, as 
the night was no more than ordinarily dark, but since that 
time, day or night, when running, the pilot houses of the sis- 
ter boats invariably contain two competent men. Captain 
Rushlow of the Vermont was then in command of the Cham- 
plain, and it was due to his cool self-possession that no panic 
ensued to lead to loss of Hfe. 

Split Rock is at the northern termination of the mountain 
bearing the same name, north of Westport. It is a rough 
fragment of perhaps a half acre in area, separated from the 
main rock by a narrow passage. 

Essex is a small village on the west shore, 10 miles north 
of Westport, where the steamer touches, then passes out into 
the broadening lake, gradually nearing the Vermont side in 
the approach to Burlington, Back, inland, are the two high- 
est peaks of the Green Mountains — Mansfield, 4,350 feet 
above tide, and Camel's Hump, the Leon Couchant of the 
French. A prominent object, as we approach the city, is 
Rock Dunder, a sharp cone of rock 20 feet high, believed to 
be the famous "Rock Reggio," so frequently mentioned in 
colonial records. Farther out in the lake is Juniper Island, 
and still farther the Four Brothers, where \ occurred Arnold's 
second engagement with Pringle, resulting in the total defeat 
of the former. Away across, on the west shore, is Wills- 
borough Point, a low peninsula about four miles long by one 
mile wide. The Green Mountain View House stands here ; 
capacity about sixty. Back of this is Willsborough Bay, with 
its precipitous western shore, along which high above the 
water, runs the " D. & H." Railroad. 

Burlington is a city of nearly 15,000 inhabitants. It is 
one of the largest lumber marts in the country, standing 
fourth in the order of business. The firms represent a capital 
of $4,000,000.00. One hundred and fifty million feet of 
lumber are sold annually from this market. The Champlain 
Transportation Company has its general office here. The 
Lake Champlain Yacht Club has an elegant club house a little 
way north of the steamboat landing. 



32 



The Adirondacks. 



Among public buildings of note are The University of 
Vermont, the Medical College, Billings Library Building, 
Vermont Episcopal Institute, St. Joseph's College, Park 
Gallery of Art, Fletcher Free Library, Mary Fletcher Hos- 
pital, and The Young Men's Christian Association building. 

On the high land back of the city, overlooking Winooski 
Valley, in the Green Mountain Cemetery, lies the body of 
Vermont's famous son, Ethan Allen. A monument of Barre 
granite, 50 feet in height, surmounted l)y a statue of Allen, 
marks the spot. • 

Hotels. Hotel Burlington, a new house, capacity 100, 
rates, $2.00 and $2.50 per day, $10.50 to $15.00 per week, 
Delaney & Harrington, proprietors. The Van Ness and 
American Houses, rates, $3.00 to $3.50 per day. L. S. Drew 
and H. N. Clark, managers. 

Port Kent is 10 miles from Burlington, the steamer 
running almost due northwest from the latter point and veer- 
ing only slightly from its course to pa s around Trembleau 
Point. Below, the town is not very attractive; but above, 

along the brow of the 
hill, are several very 
pleasant, comfortable- 
looking houses. 
Among them is the 
old home of Elkanah 
Watson, whose ac- 
count of travels in 1777 contains the best record we have of 
the towns and villages at that period. The house may be 
identified by the tall columns along its front. 

Au Sable Chasm, three miles distant, is reached from Port 
Kent over the new K., A. C. &L. C. R. R., which crosses over 
just below Rainbow Falls, to Au Sable Chasm Station, and 
continues along the west side of the river to Keeseviile, for 
which see page 44. 





CHAPTER IV. 

Au Sable Chasm. 

U SABLE CHASM is the Yosemite in 
miniature. The Au Sable River, coming 
out from the mountains of the south, 
through the valley past Keeseville, breaks, 
after many a rush and tumble, over the 
rocks into Au Sable Chasm, in the beauti- 
ful Rainbow Falls, then hurrying downward 
through devious ways, creeping under 
towering cliffs, resting in dark places where 
the sun never shines, finally emerges from 
the gloom into the broad willowy way to 
mingle later,' after many twists and turns, 
with the quiet waters of Lake Champlain. 

It'isa vast fissure in the Earth's surface, its walls, that now 
stand apart, were apparently united and solid in the past ; pro- 
jections on the one side are faced by corresponding depressions 
on the other; strata, broken off here are continued over there. 
Low down are found petrified specimens of the first orders of 
animal life and ripple marks made when the rock was in its 
plastic state — the bed of some lake or ocean — and above 
these, in successive layers, towers nearly a hundred feet of 
solid rock. 

Who can say what ages have passed away since the restless 
sea beat upon this unknown shore and left the marks of its 
wavelets for us to wonder at ? Thought is lost away back in 
the eternity of " The Beginning " when darkness was upon the 
face of the deep. Later came the dawn of Creation, and in 
its full light the lowest of animal creatures hved their brief day 




THE GRAND FLUM& 



Au Sable Chasm. 35 

and added their mite to old Ocean's bottom. Long ages rolled 
away, and floods swept over the uneasy world that reeled and 
staggered with the pulsations of its heart of fire. The thin 
shell bubbled up into mountain ridges and broke like crackle 
glass, then, cooling, left its marks in ragged heights and fear- 
ful depths. Then eame great icebergs, grinding the uplifted 
points to atoms in their course, polishing, leveling and filling 
up the openings. Then the water fled away, leaving the 
seams and cracks filled with the rich alluvium gathered in 
passing centuries, holding in its bosom the germs of vegetable 
life that in time covered all with a mantl® of green. The 
yearly rains descended, and floods swept down from the moun- 
tains above, washing outward the loose deposit that had filled 
the great crevices, and revealed this wonderland of " The 
Walled Banks of the Au Sable." 

Au Sable Chasm had been cf local interest for years, but 
was little known outside until about 1873, when a couple of 
Philadelphians, to whose attention it had been called, acquired 
possession, and built stairways, galleries and bridges, which, 
with the aid of boats near the lower end, enabled visitors to 
pass through its entire length. In 1879, the wooden galleries 
were replaced by stone walks with substantial iron railings, 
bridges were erected above high water mark or made movable, 
so as to be taken up at the close of the season and put back in 
the spring, and new boats were placed in the navigable waters 
below Table Rock, to carry visitors through the otherwise in- 
accessible portions. The admission to the chasm is 50 cents; 
the boat ride, 50 cents additional. The boats are in charge of 
experienced men, and although exciting, the ride is attended 
with no danger, so the most timid need not hesitate in going. 
The Lake View House may be seen on the high ground 
toward the west as the steamboat passes north from Port Kent. 
It overlooks Rainbow Falls^ the little hamlet known as Au 
Sable Chasm, the valley of Au Sable above the falls, the 
village of Keesville, something over a mile distant, and be- 
yond all, the sharp outHne of Whiteface Mountain. Toward 



Au Sable Chasm. 37 

the east, field and forest unite in one broad, grand slope to the 
shores of Champlain. 

The house is four stories in height, with a tower lifted con- 
siderably higher, and an open platform on the roof, which 
gives the beholder a view, subHme in its extent and diversity. 
The main portion was built in 1874, added to in 1877, and 
again in 1879. The new part (not shown in the cut) being an 
extension of the first and second stories toward the north, 
giving a spacious dining-room and desirable sleeping apart- 
ments. Along this on the east is a broad piazza, giving a lake 
frontage of nearly two hundred feet. Connected with the 
principal sleeping-rooms are bath-rooms, closets, and other 
modern appliances for the comfort of guests. Waler for 
general use and to guard against the accident of fire, is forced 
to the top of the building from the river below. The house 
is lighted with gas. An open pavilion on the west is one of 
the breeziest of lounging places imaginable. Southeast of the 
house are the billiard and bowling alleys and stables. A 
livery is connected with the hotel, and telegraph and telephone 
wires enter the office. The house is furnished in a most 
complete and substantial manner, and the beds are of the 
best. The table is supplied with vegetables grown on the 
hotel farm. Altogether the place can be truthfully spoken of 
in high terms of praise. 

Wm. H. Tracy, manager for two years past, is this year 
lesse of the Lake View House. Mr. Tracy's faculty of mak- 
ing friends and keeping them has brought many guests who 
will give him good wishes in his new venture, and no doubt 
contribute to his success by their continued patronage. That 
he is efficient and popular is proven beyond question, and his 
presence at the head of affairs here may be accepted as an as- 
surance that whatever can be done to make the visitor's stay 
agreeable, 7vill be done without ostentation, quietly and in 
good order. 

Passing from the Lake View House to the main road a few 
rods north, and descending the hill toward the west, the en- 
trance to the Chasm is reached. Admission is gained through 



Au Sable Chasm. 39 

" The Lodge," a picturesque building, octagonal in form pago- 
da-like, unique and attractive. Within will be found photo- 
graphs, books and curios pertaining to the place, and the most 
gracious of wardens who will show you down the steep stairs 
that lead through the cleft rock to the bottom. Before de- 
scending, note the queer effect the stained glass in the lodge 
windows gives to objects seen through them, where the blue 
makes frosty winter, and the red the most insufferable of sum- 
mers of the same objects. 

Rainbow Falls, at the head of the chasm, flings its mass of 
water from nearly 70 feet above into the gulf below, and from 
an equal height, when the conditions are right, a stream like a 
great waterspout is thrown away out over head from the flume 
of the works above. Horse Shoe Falls is nearly opposite the 
entrance. Note its suggestive shape from the lookout, before 
descending the stairs. 

Pulpit Rock faces us as we approach the Elbow, which is 
the first turn below the entrance. Split Rock shows on the 
left at the farthest point visible as you turn around the Elbow. 
The rock which stands at the left of the opening made by the 
splitting off of a large fallen mass is called the Elephant's 
Head, and with the morning sun lighting up the massive 
front, the name does not seem inappropriate. 

Stop when you reach the end of the bridge that crosses 
here. The Devil's Oven is in the wall which shuts off our 
farther advance on the right of the stream. Why " Oven " is 
not so clear, for if you climb the rough rocks and enter its 30 
feet of depth, you will not find it the superheated place sug- 
gested, but rather the reverse. The same trophical imagina- 
tion that conceived of this and some of the other names ap- 
plied to places here, gave to the narrow passage-way at our 
feet the name of Hell Gate, and looking, one does not really 
wonder at the fancy. From Hell Gate rising in a great sweep 
heavenward, away from the rushing waters, is Jacob's Ladder. 

Across the bridge we go, around the rocky abutment toward 
the left, clinging perhaps to the iron railing which prevents 
our sliding into the water below, beneath overhanging rocks. 



Au Sable Chasm. 41 

over the seething water, across the bridge which spans the 
Devil's Punch-Bowl — pausing perhaps to glance into the green 
depths of the Fernery at our left — down across the worn 
rocks, then zig-zag up the side to a higher level. Here is one 
of the most remarkable specimens of rock boring in the coun- 
try, called Jacob's Well, showing where some vagrant stone, 
caught perhaps in an eddy when the stream ran here, and 
whirled about continually, ground its way down through the 
strata of soft rock, until it wore itself out in vain beatings 
against its prison walls. Here a bridge crosses Mystic Gorge, 
to the Long Gallery beyond which, descending, we come to 
Point of Rocks. Note high up the sides of those rocks the 
segments of a large bowl similar to Jacob's Well, and back- 
ward the rapids which, seen from this point, in the sunshine at 
noon are very beautiful. Opposite this point is Hyde's Cave, 
named after a venturesome individual who, in 187 1, let him- 
self down by a rop6» from the rocks above and was the first to 
reach its dual entrance. Below the bridge, which leads to 
Hyde's Cave, on the same side of the stream, is Bixby's 
Grotto. 

Returning to the north shore, Smuggler's Pass, directly op- 
posite the Grotto, is crossed by a bridge. You may follow 
along the ledge if you like and lose yourself from sight where, 
back from the river, this passage winds into quite a large 
chamber. More stairways are found as we proceed, then 
comes the Post Office. This post office has neither Post Mas- 
ter nor distinguishing name in the postal department, but 
nevertheless does a large business, peculiarly its own, as the 
observant visitor will notice. No charge is made here for 
drop-letter or cards and many avail themselves of the privilege. 

CHnging close to the rocks protected by the iron railing we 
pass along high up at this point, then through the Hanging 
Garden, and, descending, cross to Table Rock. 

From the upper point of Table Rock look backward through 
the Upper Flume. See Column Rocks at the farthest visible 
point on the left, and, if the sun be right, notice the Altar- 
cloth hanging over the water at the right. Turning; the 



42 Au Sable Chasm. 

Anvil is before you, partially hidden perhaps, by the rustic 
canopy which has been built against it to afford shade for 
such as may care to take advantage of it when, for the two or 
three brief hours in the middle of the day, the sun pours its 
beams down into this open space. Back of the Anvil, Cathe- 
dral Rocks rise a hundred feet above the level floor, suggest- 
ing in their broken lines, some vast cathedral's ruined towers 
and aisles. "The Sentinel" stands guard at the outer corner 
of Cathedral Rocks. 

Through a cleft in the lower edge of Table Rock we 
descend and enter the large batteaux found waiting here for 
the passage through the Grand Flume and beyond. Do not 
fear, for these boats are strong and serviceable to withstand 
the hard knocks they get at times, and in charge of stalwart 
boatmen who will guide us safely through the exciting passage 
below. The Grand Flume reaches from Table Rock for 
some distance down. Here the water runs straight away, shut in 
by walls that rise perpendicularly up for more than a hundred 
feet, while the dip of the rock-strata on either side gives one 
the queer sensation of running down quite a steep hill. 

Here, at the narrowest place, the cliffs are scarcely ten feet 
apart and the sky above seems but a narrow ribbon of blue. 
The water seems to round up in the middle and actually to 
run on edge. No plummet has ever been found to sound its 
depths. Over this spot the main road crossed years ago and 
the place is spoken of now by the older inhabitants as " High 
Bridge." A story is told to the effect that when after a time 
the bridge was condemned and the plank taken off leaving 
only the naked log stringers stretched across, a horseman went 
over one dark and stormy night, unconscious of his danger at 
the time, although remembering afterward that as he ap- 
proached in the intense darkness, his horse had hesitated and 
when urged, moved forward in fear and trembling. 

The Lower Gate- Way ends the Long Flume and ushers us 
into the Pool. The Sentry Box is at the right as we emerge 
into the open space. On the left there is a larger creavasse in 
which, leaning, stands the Broken Needle At the Pool, the 
river turns sharply to the left and leads downward over danc- 




THE SENTINEL. 



44 The Adirondacks. 

ing rapids where we go until, rounding to the right, we enter 
quiet water once more, and finally pass out into the basin 
where, at the landing, carriages are taken to convey us back to 
the hotel. 

It is well to have passed through Au Sable Chasm once in 
a life time. Such scenes make man realize the puny crea- 
ture that he is, for — in the somewhat stalwart language of 
Will Carleton : 

" To appreciate Heaven well 

II is good for man to have some fifteen minutes of Hell." 

* * * H« H< * * 

Photographs of the Chasm may be procured at the Lake 
View House, where large books, showing the series, are on 
exhibition. 

Stages leave the Lake View House for Lake Placid every 
morning, Sundays excepted, at 7 30. Fare, $4. 

The Chasm House is on the west side of the river, toward 
Keesville. It is a substantial-looking stone building, and 
affords accommodations for 25 guests. M, Whealon, pro- 
prietor. Rates, $2 per day, $10 to $14 per week. This 
house is open the year round. 

Keeseville is on the Au Sable River, four miles from Port 
Kent, and nearly two from Au Sable Chasm. It is one of the 
thriftiest and most enterprising little villages in the state. It 
contains a number of fine private residences and public edi- 
fices, built of the beautiful, creamy sandstone which underlies 
this section of the country. The water-power is utilized in the 
twine, wire, andiron manufactories, and by the Au Sable Horse- 
Nail Company, here, and at the Nail-Rod Works, on the 
road to Au Sable Chasm. It has numerous churches, a graded 
school, and a wide-awake weekly — the Essex County Republi- 
can — ^which keeps the public in a healthy state of agitation. 

H. M. Mould, druggist and bookseller, supplies many 
things required in the woods — and the sportsman will do well 
to consult his needs before going into the farther country. 
Mr. Mould's assortment of things, ornamental and useful, is 
large and well chosen. 



Valcour Island. 45 

The Interlaken is at Augur Lake, a charming bit of wa- 
:er two and a half miles south of Keeseville. It is under the 
management of Charles Fury, and will be held open summer 
and winter hereafter. The house is three stories high, with 
extensive verandas, and, as a concession to those who may 
fear fires, has inside and outside stairways for the upper floors. 
Accommodations are offered for about loo guests. The lake 
affords fine boating and fishing. Beyond the lake rise the 
rocky walls of Poke o' Moonshine and Baldface mountains. 
At the south is the wild Poke o' Moonshine Pass, and near by 
is Augur Chasm, one of the many wonderful freaks of this 
section, in character like that of Au Sable Chasm. Con- 
nected with the house is an extensive farm, from which the 
table is supplied. In the immediate vicinity of the house are 
well-kept croquet and tennis grounds, and extensive pine 
groves are near by. A well-appointed stable affords the 
means of riding or driving at will. Special conveyance will 
meet guests at Keeseville on the arrival of trains if notice is 
sent in advance. Fare, 50 cents. Rates are from $7 to $12 
per week; $2 per day. For particulars, address the manager, 

at Keeseville. 

******* 

Returning to the steamer, we see, three miles north of the 
landing at Port Kent, the sandy mouth of the Au Sable River. 
" Au Sable " means " a river of sand." A wooded depression 
in the ground above shows the course of the river. Across 
from this is the widest uninterrupted portion of the lake, being 
here nearly eleven miles wide. Measuring into Mallett's Bay, 
the distance is nearly thirteen miles. 

Valcour Island is about six miles north of Port Kent, the 
steamer passing between it and the main land on the west. 
Here, Oct. 11, 1776, occurred the first naval engagement of 
the Revolution, between the British, commanded by Captain 
Thomas Pringle, and the Americans under Benedict Arnold. 
The British plan was to send a fleet from the north to capture 
Ticonderoga and clear the way for a junction with the army of 



46 The Adirondacks. 

the south, that should come by way of the Hudson. Early in 
the spring they began the construction] of ships at St. Johns, 
and the last of September the fleet, consisting of a three-masted 
vessel carrying eighteen guns, and two schooners with thirteen 
guns each, with smaller vessels — twenty-nine vessels in all, 
mounting eighty-nine guns, manned by picked seamen and 
practiced gunners — moved south to the attack. When it be- 
came known that preparations of this nature were in progress 
at St. John, Arnold was commissioned to construct vessels to 
oppose them, and massing all possible help and material at 
Skenesborough (now Whitehall), set about the work with tre- 
mendous energy, and in August put afloat a number of flat- 
bottomed sailing craft and row galleys, carrying altogether 84 
guns and 152 swivel-guns. The largest of these vessels was 
the "Royal Savage," a two-masted schooner carrying fourteen 
guns. With this force Arnold sailed north, going as far as 
Windmill Point, then returning, took up a position in the nar- 
row channel between Valcour Island and the main land. 

The British fleet, running before the strong north wind, 
passed on the outside of the island and some distance beyond, 
before discovering the position of the Americans. So severe 
was the wind that the larger vessels could not be brought 
back to attack and only some of the smaller ones with the 
schooner Carleton finally succeeded in getting in position. 
The engagement continued most of the afternoon during 
which the "Royal Savage " was disabled, and drifting on the 
rocks was abandoned. During the night it was set on fire by 
the British and sunk. Portions of the hull can yet be seen 
when the water is still, resting on the bottom where it then 
went down. The attacking vessels were recalled and anchored 
in line at the south to cut off the retreat of the Americans. 
During the niglu however, the Americans slipped through the 
British line and in the morning were discovered making in- 
dustrious tracks toward the south and safety. The British 
pursuing, over-hauled Arnold near the Four Brothers and a 
running fight ensued which demonstrated the superiority of 



Battle of Valcour. 47 

the British vessels and gunners. The remnant of the Ameri- 
can boats, ahiiost disabled, was grounded in a bay on the 
Vermont shore near Panton and set on fire, and Arnold and 
his men made their way through the woods to Crown Point. 
In these engagements, although defeated, Arnold acquitted 
himself in such a manner as to win the admiration of his 
enemies and the approval of his superior officers. Benedict 
Arnold was born in Norwich, Conn., Jan. 3d, 1 741, and died 
in London, June 14, 1801. As a youth, turbulent; as a 
soldier, ambitious, bold to rashness and jealous of his fellow 
officers ; dishonest. The transition from discontented rebel to 
infamous traitor was easy. He was a brilliant commander, 
his fall was like that of Lucifer. 

Valcour Island was the spot selected for " A communal 
home, based on the principles of social science," where 
the "Dawn Valcour Community" dawned on the astonished 
world of 1874, grew into a mighty power (on paper), with 
" Col." John Wilcox to furnish the intellectual, and " Uncle " 
Owen Shipman the temporal home ; where congenial spirits 
were invited to commingle in promiscuity, but all too soon 
were on the ragged edge of individuality, while the musical 
auctioneer warbled over the odds and ends that remained to 
satisfy outside demands. In the words of one of its leading 
members, the thing "busted;" and the " Dawn" was merged 
into twilight, to furnish another lesson on the practicability of 
free love. 

Hotel Champlain, the superb, is seen on the bold head- 
land that puts out from the west shore just north or Valcour 
Island. It does not come upon you suddenly, as a revelation. 
You have seen it over the lake for miles back on your course, 
before the steamer had touched at Burhngton, perhaps, or from 
the car window as the reeling train swung around Trembleau 
Mountain nearly temmiles away, and at intervals ever since 
as the road wound in and out along the shore. Now, as you 
approach, its magnificient proportions come out in grand re- 
lief against the sky. 

" Commanding " is not misapplied here. The hotel stands 



48 




on a height that breaks away abruptly in all directions for a 
si^ace, then in gentler slope reaches the level of the lower 
shores north and south, the water on the east, and the valley 
toward the west where the trains of the D. & H. flash like 
gleaming shuttle through the vari-tinted web of cultivated 



Hotel Champlain. 49 

fields and cross-line country roads. Long colonades j broad 
piazzas conforming to the swelling contour of facing, east, 
south and west; breezy porticos, and balconies hung along 
its sides or perched high up on tower and sharply sloping roof, 
give grace and lightness to the structure that rises above the 
tops of the trees crowning the rugged bluff. Distance gives 
to it the lightness of a castle built of straws, the closer view 
reveals it solid and substantial as the most realistic could 
wish. 

At a moderate elevation it commands in an unbroken 
circuit a panorama that for picturesque variety and beauty is 
equaled perhaps nowhere in the country. Having no near 
mountain heights to dwarf its own strong setting, it looks out 
from its own native wilderness over land and water diversified 
and changeful. It is restful, rather than overpowering with 
great heights and dismal depths. Right and left runs the 
valley with its checker-board of field and woodland ; its net- 
work ofroads ; its quaint farm buildings gathered here and 
there in little knots that form hamlets and prosperous villages^ 
and beyond, hills rising into the ranges of the Adirondacks 
that stretch across, pointed at intervals with the grander 
mountain peaks. Towards the east a broad swath has been 
cut out through the green trees down to the water's edge, 
where busy life attends as the steamers come and go. Here 
gleam the beach of " The Singing Sands" circling in a broad 
belt toward the south, between the restless water and the thick 
growing cedars. Toward the north are perpendicular cliffs 
that attain quite a height — the bluffs which undoubtedly gave 
to the point its name. They are cleft asunder at one place 
and made memorable by the tradition of the White Squaw 
and the Bloody Hand that left its marks on the walls and 
later as the place where smugglers successfully landed their 
stores free from suspicion because of its seeming inaccessibility 
to those who were not in the secret. 

Yalcour Island lies like a garden below, bordered with its 
varying belt of shrubbery. Beyond stretches the broad lake, 
dotted here and there with islands, to the shores of Vermont. 



50 



The Adirondacks. 



the Green Mountains beyond rising into the heights of Camel's 
Hump and Mount Mansfield. North and east are Grand Isle 
and the Great Back Bay ; at the north Cumberland Head, 
the sweeping circle of Plattsburgh Bay, where occurred that 
splendid naval battle of 1814, the last, as the Battle of Val- 
cour was the first, with the mother country — and nearer, the 
httle island where sleep the dead of that eventful day. 

Within the hotel is found everything that appertains to a — 
oh much, and ill-used term— first-class house. Every modern 
appliance tending to the comfort of guests will be found here, 




D. & H, RAILROAD STATION. 



and that its management will be all which time and experi- 
ence has shown to be the most acceptable to the travelled 
pubUc, may be confidently expected, for is not that prince of 
hotel-keepers, O. D. Seavy of Hotel Ponce de Leon, to be 
at its head ? 

Excursions may be made by steamboat from this point 
south to Ticonderoga or north among the islands and on to 
the fishing grounds of the Lake. A fleet of boats, ranging 
from the light Whitehall skiff to the dainty httle steam yacht,' 
are here f r charter. Drives are many and varied, and equip- 
pages here to suit all occasions. The distance from New 
York is 308 miles ; fare, $8.05. To Montreal, 77 miles ; fare 



Plattsburgh. 51 

$2,71. Quick and convenient train service will be main- 
tained throughout the season north and south. Trains on the 
Chateaugay Railroad leave in the morning, arriving at Saranac 
Lake and the various hotels reached by the Chateaugay Rail- 
road in time for dinner. 

Crab Island, some distance north of Valcour, is the burial 
place of the common sailors and marines who fell in the battle 
of Plattsburgh. North of this, and projecting well out across 
the lake, is Cumberland Head, from which the shore recedes 
toward the north and west, then comes back in a wide sweep, 
embracing the waters of Cumberland Bay. 

The Battle of Plattsburgh took place here in 18 14. 
Stripped of detail, the account of this decisive battle is as fol- 
lows : On a beautiful Sabbath morning, September nth, 1814, 
the American land forces under General McComb, and the 
American fleet under Commodore Macdonough, were simul- 
taneously attacked by the British land and water forces, under 
General Sir George Provost and Commodore Downie. The 
engagement resulted in a complete victory for the former, only 
a few small boats of the enemy effecting a successful retreat 
At the commencement of the naval engagement, the British' 
land forces, consisting of 14,000 infantry, advanced against 
the Americans, 3,000 strong, entrenched at points along the 
south bank of the river, but were repulsed with a loss of 2,500 
in killed, wounded and missing. They also lost immense 
stores, which were abandoned in their retreat — which served 
them right for breaking the Sabbath. The ruins of the old 
forts are to be seen on the south outskirts of the village. The 
largest — Fort Moreau — is in the centre, Fort Brown, on the 
bank of the river, and Fort Scott near the lake. This is a 
regular army post now. The barracks, about a mile south of 
the village, near the lake shore, built in 1838, are occupied by 
a company of soldiers belonging to the regular army. 

Plattsburgh is on the west shore of this bay, a thriving 
village of 8,000 inhabitants. It is of considerable commercial 
importance, being on the direct line between New York and 
Montreal, 311 miles from the former and 74 from the latter. 
It is the northern terminus of the Au Sable (Branch) Rail- 



52 The Adirondacks. 

road, and from it the Chateauga)- Railroad penetrates the 
mountains toward the west. Plattsbiirgh is thoroughly cosmo- 
politan, with an opinion to offer on every question of the day, 
exerting no mean influence through its wide-awake news- 
papers, the, Diily Telegram, 3.nAt\it Seniinel SluA Republican — 
the latter instituted in 1811, and, notwiihstand its age, one of 
the most reliable and ably conducted democratic weeklies in 
the state. 

The first settler in this region was Count Charles de Freden- 
burgh, a captain in the English army. The warrant conveying 
the land to him bore date June 11, 1769. 

The property reverting to the state after the Revolution, 
was granted, in 1784, to Zephaniah Piatt and others, and in- 
corporated into the town of Pittsburgh, April 4, 1785. A 
company was then organized which, in June of the same year, 
erected a mill at Fredenburgh Falls. The estimate of ex- 
pense contained, among other items, the following: "For 
bread, $65 ; for rum $80." They used a great deal of bread 
in those days. 

In the year 1800 Plattsburgh was the county seat, its terri- 
tory extending from Lake George on the south to Canada 
and the St. Lawrence River on the north and west. The 
village then possessed a jjopulation of less than 300, and with- 
in the county limits were owned at this time 58 slaves. 

The Fouquet House is at the depot, and affords a con. 
venient stopping place for narties arriving late or desiring to 
take an early train out. 

The Witherill House is near the post-office. It is 
elegant in its appointments, its pictures and decorations dis- 
playing a high degree of artistic taste. 

The Cumberland stands at the corner of Trinity Square. 
It is one of the oldest hotels, and has a large patronage. G. 
S. Corbin, an ex-railroad man, liberal and popular with the 
traveling public, is the proprietor. A free 'bus runs to and 
from all boats and trains, and ample time is given parties 
arriving on the sleeper from the south to get breakfast and a 
view of the surrounding country, if so inclined, before starting 



Plattsburgh, 53 

up the Chateaugay Railroad for tlie interior. Rates, $2 per 
day ; $ i o to $ i 2 per week. 

There 15 also an excellent restaurant in the depot, under 
railroad management. Here a good lunch can be had at a 
moderate price, or a comfortable meal during the twenty 
minutes usually given for that purpose between the arrival and 
departure of trains. 

In a private letter to the author, that enthusiastic sports- 
man, Dr. George F. Bixby, editor of the V\a.ttshurgh jR<r/>uMcan 
says : "In the universal rush for the woods and waters of 
the Adirondacks, Lake Champlain has been shamefully over- 
looked ; here are islands which now appear in all their 
original beauty as when Champlain first saw them, the abode 
of eagles, so secluded are they, and here is better fishing, all 
the yenr round, than any other body of water in Northern 
New York can boast of; big hungry fish, voracious pike, 
huge black b.iss, as well as the nmscallonge — that nearly 
extinct fish — the noblest and gamiest that swims, ready for 
the fisherman at all seasons. In their season, water fowl 
abound — enormous black ducks and wild geese, with smaller 
game in abundance. Lake Champlain is also, of late, attract- 
ing the attention of canoeists, yachtsmen (both steam and 
sail) and camping parties, on account of facility of access 
from the Hudson and St. Lawrence for all kinds of craft; 
hospitality of inhabitants ; pure air ; pure water ; delightful 
scenery, eligible camping grounds and abundant bases of sup- 
plies, all offering irresistible attraction to those unable to en- 
dure the fatigue incident to a lodge in the vast wilderness, or 
that other class who are ' constitutionally tired,' and to whom 
distance lends enchantment to the view of Adirondack peaks. 
To such I offer a word of advice — halt near the north end of 
the lake, in some of the comfortable homes, whose doors will 
be thrown open f.jr a modci-ate consideration, or encamp be- 
neath the friendly shade of some island grove, where the 
punkies cease from troubhng and the weary are at rest." 



54 The Adirondacks. 

Rouse's Point, according to the United States Coast 
Survey, is 107 miles north of Whitehall. It is the most 
important port of entry on the frontier. Five railroads centre 
here, viz.: The D. & H., leading to New York, the O. & L. 
C, to Ogdensburg and the Thousand Islands, the Grand 
Trunk to Montreal, the Portland & Ogdensburg to the White 
Mountains, and the Central Vermont to Boston and the south- 
east. 

Hotel Windsor is on the lake shore a short distance south 
of the little village, far enough to be free from its bustle and 
removed entirely from the annoying sounds of traffic and con- 
fusion at the busy station. It commands a widely extended 
view of the lake, its islands, and the distant mountains of Ver- 
mont, whose swelling sides and rounded peaks change contin- 
ually under the passing shadows like the shifting forms of the 
kaleidoscope. Along shore and over among the islands are 
famous fishing grounds where the skillful angler — and some- 
times those not so highly skilled — find very satisfactory sport 
with the voracious pike, the gamey bass, and the dainty yellow 
perch. A photograph is shown by the proprietor of the hotel, 
where a string of about three dozen pickerel, pike, bass, and 
Muscallonge with a certified weight of 130-odd pounds, show 
^he result of a single day's sport. A lithographic copy of the 
photograph has a '' fishy " look, but the photograph is proof 
positive, for " the instrument never lies." The house is nearly 
new ; fresh and inviting in appearance, the furnishing is good, 
the beds of the best, while the table is exceptionally nice. The 
proprietor is Charles F. Beck, of the well-known Florida 
House at St. Augustine, Florida. Steam yachts for excursions, 
sail-boat and skiff for fisherman and idler ; riding, driving, and 
the regulation lawn sports are available here, so that none 
need lack for amusements. 

A free carriage runs to all trains. New York morning pa- 
pers arrive early in the evening. Telegraph in the hotel office. 
Price for board, $2.50 to $3 per day ; $12 to $15 per week. 



Rouses Point. 55 

The Coquette is a screw steamer with headquarters here. 
It is a steel hull, 114 feet long and 22 feet beam, with a 
cabin on the main deck, a platform with awning above, buffet 
and other conveniences. Captain Rockwell (Pilot Rockwell 
of our narrative 73) is the commander. The Coquette leaves 
the Windsor at about 7:30 in the morning, touching at the 
island landings, at Plattsburgh and Port Kent, and arrives at 
Burlington about noon. Returning, reaches Rouses Point 
about 6, in time for supper and to connect with trains for the 
north and west. 

Fort Montgomery, a little way north of the long bridge, is 
an interesting ruin belonging to the United States. About a 
mile north of this a belt of woodland marks the boundary line 
between the United States and^Canada. 

The O. & L. C. railroad runs west from Rouses Point to 
Ogdensburgh from which place the Thousand Islands can be 
reached by boat or rail. For a portion of the way this road 
runs through wild land and from it several important gate- 
ways enter the Adirondacks. 

Chateaugay is 45 miles west of Rouses Point, a somewhat 
thriving country village of about 700 popula- 
tion with two hotels, stores, etc. Chateaugay 
Chasm, ij miles north of the station, rivals 
Au Sable Chasm in many respects, and de- 
serves to take rank among the wonders of the 
Adirondack region. It is about a half mile 
in extent, walled in by perpendicular cliffs, through which the 
river runs, descending in its first leap a distance of 50 feet; 
thence by numerous broken steps, throughout its entire 
length. It is rendered accessible to the public by means of 
stairways, galleries, etc. The Chasm House stands' at the 
entrance. It is much resorted to by local picnic parties and 
by wonder-seekers from a distance. 

Chateaugay Lake (Lower) outlet is 8 miles south of the 
station. Stage daily. The lake is about 2I miles' long and is 
connected with the Upper Lake by a navigable stream about 





56 The Adirondacks. 

the same length. A steamer runs at intervals through the 
two lakes, and a road along the east shore affords means of 
transit. The hotels of the Upper Lake are " Merrill's," 
"Relph's" and " Indian Point House". See page 59. 

Malone, the county seat of Franklin, is 57 miles from 
Rouses Point and 61 from Ogdensburgh. It 
is a flourishing village, and one of the im- 
portant towns of the state. *' Hotel Flana- 
gan" is the leading house. Rates, $2.00 to 
$3.00 per day. AV. R. & S. J. Flanagan, 
Proprietors. Lake Titus, 8 miles south, 
may be reached by special conveyance. 
This pretty sheet is about 2 miles long, and a quarter that in 
width. Limited accommodations may be found at the out- 
let. The Mountain View House is at the State Dam, on the 
Salmon River, 13 miles from Malone. Accommodations are 
here for about 30 guests, R. G. Low, proprietor. Post-office, 
Malone, N. Y. Rates, $10 to 15 per week, $2.50 per day. 
Indian Lake is one-third of a mile north, and outlets into the 
river above the State Dam. From it a trail leads north to the 
road running east to Ragged Lake (4J miles long, including 
the "Figure Eight"). The two are connected by a short 
stream and one-third mile carry. The name of each is de- 
scriptive enough. Ingraham Pond is about i|- miles west of 
the head of Ragged Lake. Across from the shore opposite the 
Ragged Lake House, a trail leads east i mile to Mountain 
Pond ; thence northeast 4 miles to the outlet of Chateaugay 
Lake. Mecham Lake House is 25 miles from Malone, and 
T2 miles from Paul Smith's Station. Will accommodate 75. 
Rates, $10 to $17.50 per week; $2 to $3 per day. A. R. 
Fuller, proprietor. Meacham Lake is about 2^ miles long. 
Its outlet is the east branch of the St. Regis River. 

The Northern Adirondack Railroad extends from 
Moira, 70 miles west of Rouses Point, south to Tupper Lake 
Station, a distance of 56 miles. The Blue Mountain House 
(P. O. Santa Clara), near Blue Mountain of the North, is four 
miles southwest of Spring Cove (daily stage 75 cents), will ac- 



Northern Adirondack R. R. 



57 




JORBnn 



r(/(>i»t/ri/i«£ wo"^' 



commodate 50. Board $1.50 per day; $6 to $9 per week. 
H. Phelps, proprietor. 

Stages are taken at Paul Smith 
Station for St. Regis Lake (see page 
60); at Saranac Inn Station for 
Saranac Inn, 8 miles distant (see 
page 106) ; at Childwood Station 
for Childwood Park House, 7 miles 
(see page 108), and at TupperLake 
Station for Wawbeek Lodge, 8 
miles (see page 105.) Steamboat 
runs from Tupper Lake Station to 
the hotels on Tupper Lake (page 
109). During the summer, a 
through train service is maintained from New York via the N. 
Y. C. and R. W. & O. Railroads. 

******* 

The Chateaugay Railroad extends from Plattsburgh to 
Saranac Lake, a distance of 73 miles. The first section was 
built by the State to reach Chnton Prison, at Dannemora, 17 
miles from Plattsburgh. In 1880, it was extended to Lyon 
Mountain, 17 miles further; but the influx of Adirondack 
tourists was increasing, and the road, that climbed an altitude 
of 2,000 feet to Lyon Mountain, must go farther into the 
wilderness. So it was extended to Loon Lake. In 1888, 19 
miles more were added, bringing it to Saranac Lake, 
distributing its passengers by various stage routes that 
branch from it to a score or more of summer hotels. By it 
tourists reach Chazy, Chateaugay, Loon, Rainbow, St. Regis, 
and Upper and Lower Saranac Lakes, Ray Brook, Lake 
Placid and Mirror Lake, reaching even into Cascade Lakes 
and Adirondack Lodge. A Wagner sleeping car leaves Grand 



58 



The Adirondacks. 




Central Station, New York, daily the year round, for Platts- 
biirgh, where passengers are given time for breakfast before 
leaving for the interior. During the pleasure season, passen- 
gers can leave Grand Central Station 7:30 p. m., connecting 
with trains leaving Plattsburgh 7:30 a. m., and reach the vari- 
ous resorts in time for 
dinner. Passengers 
can leave New York 
at 6 p. M. by Hudson 
River night boats and 
by the Adirondack 
special from Albany 
or Troy, reach Platts- 
burgh at 12:20 and 
Saranac Lake 4:30 p, 
M. the following day. 
This enables passengers to take the stage ride from the rail- 
road to the various hotels in the cool of the day. Drawing- 
room cars are run on all trains. Sleeping and drawing-room 
car accommodations can be secured in advance at any of the 
stations. A Sunday train each way will run during July and! 
August. 

Leaving Plattsburgh, the road runs south for a short dis 
tance, out past the U. S. Barracks ; then swings around tO' 
ward the west, and crossing the Saranac River 10 miles frorr 
Plattsburgh, cHmbs diagonally up out of the valley. 

Dannemora is 17 miles from, and 1,300 feet above, Platts- 
burgh. Clinton Prison is situated here, and affords a quiet 
home for a number of people of leisure, who pass their time 
in meditation, making clothing, and other congenial pursuits. 

From Dannemora, the road swings westerly, around the 
south side of Johnson Mountain, and north, near the west 
shore of Chazy Lake ; then, west and southerly to the mines ; 
running 17 miles to reach a point nine miles distant in a 
straight line. 

Chazy Lake is nearly four miles long and a mile wide. 
Chazy Lake House has an advertised capacity for 50 to 60 



Chateaugay Lake. 59 

guests. Rates $2.50 per day ; $12.00 to $16.00 per week. 
Open, May to October 15. This house stands near the north 
end of the lake, and may be reached by boat from Chazy Sta- 
tion. Fare 50 cents. 

Lyon Mountain is the centre of extensive mining opera- 
tions of the Chateaugay Ore- and Iron Company, and exists at 
the pleasure of that corporation. In 1878 it contained only a 
few scattered houses ; it now has a hotel, stores, and churches, 
with about 2,500 inhabitants, and is in a thriving condition. 
It is peculiarly a mining town in appearance ; lacking, how- 
ever, the usual accompaniment of gambler and rumseller, for 
people of that ilk are not tolerated here. The attention of all 
good moral people, who say these two evils should be licensed, 
because prohibition can never prohibit, is respectfully called 
to this spot. 

Upper Chateaugay Lake is about four miles in length and 
3ne broad. It empties at the north, through a winding stream, 
into the Lower Lake, which is somewhat smaller than the up- 
per. It is picturesque with its surrounding mountains and 
rugged shores. It is reached by stage from Lyon Mountain, 4 
miles, and from Chateaugay Station on the O. & L. C. R. R. 
by a 6 mile stage ride and by connecting boat through the 
lower lake and narrows. It has a number of summer cottage- 
camps on the west shore. Seth Thomes, of clock fame, is on 
the east side near the south end. Hon. John H. Moffitt, M. 
C, has a camp on the island near the centre of the lake. 

A small steamboat leaves the foot of the lower lake on the 
arrival of the stage from Chateaugay station twice a day dur- 
ing the season, running through the lower lake and the con- 
necting stream and through the upper lake, landing at all 
camps and hotels, making a distance of about 8 miles. The 
trip through lakes and winding river is a pleasant and interest- 
ing one, the fare 50 cents. 

Ralph's is on the east shore 3J miles from Lyon Mountain 
(stage fare 50 cents). It has capacity for about 100 guests. 
Open from June 15th to October ist. Rates, $3.00 per day . 
$ 1 2.00 to $16.00 per week. J. W. Hutton, Proprietor. 

Here will be found tennis, billiards and bowling, for lovers 
of such amusements, boats, guides and camp supplies for the 



6o The Adirondacks. 

sportsman, and fishermen who know the places wherein lurk 
the trout for which this lake is noted. The house and en- 
vironment is specially attractive because of its air of neatness 
that extends from office to kitchen ; the beds are of the best 
and the table equaled by few of the most famous. There is a 
telegraph office in the hotel and two mails daily. The New 
York morning papers arrive early in the afternoon. The pro- 
prietor is agreeable and obliging. During the summer season 
he is here to make things pleasant for the visitor. When win- 
ter comes he is off like the birds to Florida where he entertains 
his cold blooded patrons from the north. House and man are 
equally voted a success. 

Merrill's is near the outlet, with accommodations for 
about fifty. Rates $10.00 to $14.00 per week, with a dis- 
count for small children. Post-office (" Merrills," N. Y.) and 
telegraph office in the house. Oliver Young, proprietor. The 
house stands about 60 feet back from the water's edge on 
rising ground. It is one of these long rambling cozy sort of 
structures that gives you a sense of homelike welcome, never 
felt before the triumph in classic architecture. The view from 
the house is beautiful, showing the entire stretch of the lake 
with the surrounding mountains closing it in. Merrill's has 
been for years a noted resort among old hunters and fisher- 
men. The smaller game birds and water fowl are here in 
their season, squirrels and foxes abound, and deer and bear 
are not uncommon additions to the list of the killed. It gives 
also by its position near the outlet, a choice of lake or river 
fishing according to day or season. It furnishes outfits and 
suppHes for hunter and fishermen. It maintains special baited 
buoys in the lake for trout and shad at the service of its 
guests. For home amusements is a tennis court and base-ball 
ground. For riding or driving, horses and carriages can be 
had. For fishing or rowing, boats, guides and outfits to suit. 
Stages meet all trains at Lyon Mountain, about four miles dis- 
tant. Fare 50 cents. Steamboat through to the lower lake 
connecting with stage for the railroad at Chateaugay. Fare, 
steamboat and stage, $1.00. 



. Chateaugay Lake. 6i 

The Indian Point House is on the west side of the lake 
near the south end; capacity about 40 guests. Rates, $1.50 
per day, $8 to $10 per week. Post-office address, "Merrill's, 
N. Y." R, M. Shutts, proprietor. The accommodations are 
in a group of buildings that have grown to meet the increasing 
demand of visitors, and the equipment consists of some of the 
best beds made, and furniture comfortable enough to fill all 
reasonable desires. It is strictly a temperance house, no liquor 
being sold on the premises. Steamboats run regularly to 
connect with the stage at Ralph's and through to the Lower 
Lake to connect with stage for the O. & L. C. Railroad. 
Fare to railroad, $1. Mr. Shutts is a veteran hunter and fish- 
erman, and his house is admirably located for lovers of wild- 
woods sports. Some of the best fishing grounds of the lake 
are close by the house. At the back is a dense forest that 
reaches out into the wild section, through which trails run to 
smaller sheets of water that are little known except to the local 
hunter and fisherman. All requisites for sport are supplied 
when wanted. 

^ •1* •!• •!• "J* •!* T^ 

The railroad swings around the west side of Lyon Moun- 
tain aff"ording a beautiful and extended view of Chateaugay 
Lake at one point where the woods have been cut away for 
that purpose. Then come forge and coal-kilns, and beyond, 
winding west and south, the road penetrates a wild and inter- 
esting section, hJretoforc almost an unknown wilderness, until 
Loon Lake is reached. Loon Lake extends south from the 
station, and is about two and a half miles long, with high 
banks and irregular shores. 

The Loon Lake House stands on the high ridge which, 
like the rim of some wide-mouthed volcano, holds the lake 
within its circling walls at its south end, while beyond, the 
land drops rapidly down into the deep valley of the Saranac. 
The house is roomy, well furnished, and, together with the cot- 
tages, has capacity for about 300 guests. Price for board, 
$3.50 to $5 per day, $17 to $25 per week. Ferd. W. Chase, 
proprietor. Post office. Loon Lake. Stages meet all trains 
at Loon Lake Station; fare 50 cents. 



62-A The Adirondacks. ' 

Skirting the western shore of the Lake the train swings 
around the east side of Long Pond, and winding in and out 
between other small ponds and among low sand dunes that are 
scantily covered with tufted grass, reaches Rainbow Station, 
6 1 miles from Plattsburgh. 

The Rainbow House is three miles west of Rainbow Sta- 
tion. Fifty guests can be accommodated here. Board $2.50 
per day; $10.00 to $15.00 per week. J. M. Wardner, pro- 
prietor. Post office, Rainbow, N. Y. 

This house has more than the usual number of attractions 
for the hunter or fisherman, as might be expected, where the 
proprietor himself is an ardent lover of sport, and combines 
with a hearty good-fellowship a knowledge of the habits and 
haunts of wild game possessed by few. Mr. Wardner is 
cordially seconded in all his enterprises by his efficient help- 
meet, who counts among her accomplishments that of a taxi- 
dermist and gives practical evidence of her work by filling 
every corner of the house with native specimens of the art. 
The house is finished in a most substantial manner with native 
woods, and arranged to be warmed comfortably throughout in 
case of a sudden lowering of the temperature, such as may 
be expected here by the early fishermen or the hunter who 
tarries for late shooting. This is noted fishing ground and 
claims the proud distinction of yielding the largest lake trout 
on record, one having a weight of 52 pounds. Numerous 
small ponds in this vicinity yield excellent fishing while Rain- 
bow Lake, and Wardner Pond (which comes close up to the 
house) with adjacent waters have been stocked with 800,000 
trout fry the past five years, afi'ording rare sport and astonish- 
ing results, sometimes to even the unpracticed fisherman. 
Telegraph office and post office are in the house. Carriages 
run to all trains at Rainbow Station, fare 75 cents. Recent 
improvements have been made in the surroundings that will be 
appreciated by visitors. The large farm connected with the 
house insures a supply of farm products, fresh and healthful. 



The Adirondacks. 

Bloomingdale (station) is 66 miles from Plattsbm-gh. 
Here stages are taken for Bloomingdale and Paul Smith's. 

The Crystal Spring House, just outside the hamlet of 
Bloomingdale, is one and a half miles east of the station. 
Stage fare, 25 cents. It is a pleasant and attractive place, 
with a reputation for homehke comfort seldom attained by 
houses much older. It is nicely finished and comfortably 
furnished. M. L. Baldwin, the original proprietor, again as- 
sumes the management. Accommodations are here offered 
for 30 guests. Board $8.00 to $12.00 per week, $2.00 per 
day. Mr. Baldwin is manifestly filled with a desire to make 
and keep friends, and his house is eminently satisfactory. 

St. Regis Lake House, familiarly known as Paul Smith's, 
is seven miles west of Bloomingdale Station. Stage fare, $1. 
Paul Smith came here in 1861, and built a small house 
among the pines, on Lower St. Regis Lake, for the accom- 
modation of sportsmen. It had a rapid growth in business, 
and soon reached remarkable proportions. The house has a 
stated capacity for 500 guests. Rates, $4,00 per day, $21.00 
to $30.00 per week, A. A. Smith, proprietor. Post-offtce, 
" Paul Smith's." This point is reached also from the North- 
ern Adirondack Railroad, over which during the season of 
pleasure travel cars are run from Grand Central Station, New 
York, without change. For descriptive and excursion book 
of the section covered by this route, address A. C. Allison, 
G. P. A., Moira, N. Y. 

Lower St. Regis Lake is about two miles long by one 
broad, discharges west through the middle branch of the St. 
Regis River. It is about 1,600 feet above tide. The sur- 
rounding country is tame compared with the mountain dis- 
tricts, the only elevation of any considerable importance being 
St. Regis Mountain. 

Saranac Lake (village) is 73 miles from Plattsburgh. Fare 
from New York, by rail, $11.75. For matter relating to this 
section see page 95. 



62-C Peasleville. 

Peasleville lies among the hills about ten miles due west 
from Hotel Champlain on the little river that empties into the 
lake at the south of Bluff Point. It is a place comparatively 
unknown to the summer tourist — outside the great public 
thoroughfares where the pleasure-seeker goes up and down. 
It is reached best over the Au Sable branch of the " D. & H." 
railroad from Plattsburgh to Peru, thence by carriage six miles 
west. It lies between two parallel mountain spurs that pro- 
ject eastward from the great Adirondack system, enclosing the 
Salmon River Valley. The elevation is sufficient to give it a 
pure and bracing atmosphere, and the views from its near 
heights are far-reaching and restful. On the one hand, the 
valley stretches away toward old Whiteface till it is lost in the 
higher land of the Adirondack plateau ; on the other, it in- 
cludes the most beautiful portion of the Champlain Valley, 
the broad lake and the Green Mountains beyond. At fre- 
quent intervals the river is fed by little streams from living 
springs on the mountain sides, with water as pure, sweet and 
wholesome as the earth affords. Brook trout fishing — good 
before and seldom indulged in here except by the local angler 
with the crudest of tackle — has recently been greatly improved 
by stocking the principal streams, and affords very satisfactory 
sport to the fisherman, experienced or otherwise. Partridges 
are abundant on the mountains, and, with squirrels, afford fit 
targets for the fowling piece which is the only firearm that one 
needs to take to this section. For amusements, Davis Pond, 
a mile long by a fourth that in width, gives opportunity for 
boating while the many picturesque roads that branch out as 
the valley widens at the east and west ends, afford unlimited 
extent and variety that cannot fail in some instance, at least, 
to prove delightful. Accommodations can be found among 
the farm houses in the valley (or on the mountain sides, if one 
is inclined to seek the greater elevations) where wholesome 
country fare, with an abundance of fresh farm and dairy pro- 
ducts can be had and willing and unstinted service, respecting 
which address Arnold & Ricketson, Peasleville, Clinton Co.. 
N. Y., for particulars of names and places. 



Wilmington. 62 -i> 

The Au Sable Branch R. R. extends from Plattsburgh, 
/;o miles, in a southwesterly direction, to Au Sable Station. 
Coaches leave Au Sable on the arrival of morning train from 
Plattsburgh and stage from Au Sable Chasm, going via Wil- 
mington Notch, where dinner is had; arriving at Lake Placid 
at about 3. Fare from Au Sable Station to Wilmington, $ 1 , 
to Lake Placid, $2.50. 

A stage runs daily from Au Sable Forks, 13 miles above 
Au Sable Station, to Keen Valley, 20 miles south, via Lower 
and Upper Jay. 

When, in '73, the Professor and I made our first visit to 
this section, there were no palace cars to set us down in the 
midst of the lake country, nor even a coach to carry us to the 
interior, but instead we journeyed in a chartered rig, from Au 
Sable Chasm to Wilmington and beyond. If you will come 
with us on that trip we will show you a section delightfully 
wild and picturesque, as yet only partially developed and not 
appreciated at half its true worth — a section remarkable for 
striking features, even in a country whose untiring charm is 
its variety; its strong contrasts, and its rapid changes. 

Following the route shown in gateway No. 2, we were in 
due time deposited on the steps of the old Whiteface Moun- 
tain House at Wilmington, where we were confronted by a 
big, square-looking fellow, with pants in boots and signs of fun 
in his clear, blue eye. We enquired if he was landlord. 

With a quizzical look down at his working-clothes, he re- 
plied; "Well, I don't know. It's been so long since we had 
company, that it don't pay to keep a landlord; but you'd better 
come in." So we entered, and were soon as comfortable and 
contented as a good supper and a roaring fire could make us. 

Wilmington gives marked evidence of former prosperity, 
and, at some past time, was a centre of considerable import- 
ance. Now it is a little hamlet, combining the old and the 
new picturesquely enough, prettily located on the west branch 
of the Au Sable River, where it flows along under the east base 
of Whiteface Mountain. 



62 -E THE "AdIRONDACKS. 

Bliss' Hotel, situated on the west side of the river, is 
where visitors now find entertainment, instead of at the 
old Mountain House, where we stopped on our first visit. 
Greatly increased travel makes this hotel important, it being 
a convenient -stopping and dining place for travelers ovei 
this route to Lake Placid. The proprietor is both capable 
and obliging, which fact, with his appetizing meals and 
excellent accommodations, has given the house a good repu- 
tation on its merits. From Bliss' to the summit of White- 
face is six miles, and saddle-horses for the ascent may be 
had at the hotel. Still water on the river affords a mile and 
a half of pleasant boating. Distances from Bliss' are a? 
follows: To Au Sable Station, 13 miles ; to Lake Placid, 16 
miles ; to Wilmington Pass, 6 miles ; to Big Falls, 4 miles ; 
to Flume, 2^ miles. The house accommodates 30 to 50 and 
offers real attractions to permanent guests, as well as hungry 
wayfarers. Rates $8 to $12 per week ; $2 per day; 75 cts. 
per meal. L. M. Bliss, proprietor. 

The Storrs House, for some time past the only hotel 
here, is on the east side of the river. Capacity 30. Board 
$8 per week; $2.00 per day; 75 cents per meal. Ira H. 
Storrs, proprietor. 

Stage daily from morning train at Ausable Station, running 
through to Lake Placid. Retinning, leaves Lake Placid in 
the morning, and passing through Wilmington, connects at 
Ausable Station with afternoon train to Plattsburgh, and 
stages for Keeseville and Ausable Chasm. Fare to Ausabla 
Station, $1.00; to Lake Placid, $1.50. 




SUMMIT OF WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN. 



CHAPTER V. 



OLD WHITEFACE. 



UT off from its kindred on the south by 
Wilmington Notch, and on the north by 
one almost as deep, pyramidal in form, 
although somewhat the longest north and 
south, its base clothed in inky spruce and 
balsams, its naked granite head among the 
clouds " Old Whiteface " stands one of 
the finest mountain peaks in the Adiron- 
dacks. 

" I'll tell you what I'll do," said our warm- 
hearted landlord at night as we sat discuss- 
ing pro and con the ascent of " Old White- 
face," " if you will stay over I will take you 
two miles up the mountain — as far as we can conveniently 
jet with a «>ragon — and send a guide to the top with you, toy 




Old Whitefacb. 65 

it*s the grandest mountain view to be had in the Adiiondacks, 
and I don't want you to go away without seeing it" Of 
':ourse we accepted, only insisting that he go with us. So at 
nine in the morning, with the thermometer at 48, we set out 
up the mountains ; we left the wagon which returned to the 
hotel, with instructions to meet us at sunset, and proceeded 
up the bridle path toward the summit, traveling about a mile 
westerly then turning toward the south, entered the standing 
timber and began the ascent in earnest 

At the end of a half hour we had gone another mile and came 
out on an open space called " Lookout Point," half way to 
the summit Here the blueberries grew thick, and we scraped 
whole hahdfuls from the bushes and ate them — in ten minutes 
gathering all we cared for. Then we resumed our course and 
pressed upward through the dark woods, scrambling up the 
steep path where great rocks alternated with pools of black 
muck in a semi-liquid state, trodden and mixed by horses' feet, 
and we wondered that horses could climb such places with a 
hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds of humanity on their 
back ; but Baldwin said to his knowledge not an accident 
furttier than being lost for a night, ever happened on the 
mountain. We reached the shanty, three-fourths ot a mile 
from the summit, a little past noon, and here occurred a des- 
oerate encounter between three men on the one side and six 
slices of bread and butter, supported by other fixtures, on the 
other, which resulted in their total defeat and destruction. 

The shanty is in a small clearing, at the highest point where 
wood and water can be obtained, has log sides, with a roof, 
part canvass, part bark. Within is a parlor and cook stove ; 
along one side, raised a little above the floor, a platform that 
looked as though it might do service as Brigham Young's 
family bedstead, was covered with spruce and hemlock 
branches, and blankets. A sort of cross between a stairway 
and ladder led up to the ladies' dormitory under the sharp 
roof, through which the stars could peep in places. Here, in 
the bed which was over nearly the entire floor, " permiscus 
like," we could discover signs of the tender feeling with which 
the fair sex was regarded — in the springy moss and fine leaves 
which had been stripped from the hemlock branches, on which 



66 The Adirondacks. 

the lords ot creation slept down below. The pipe from the 
glove in the lower room, where a fire can be kept roaring all 
night, passed up through this one, and altogether it was a 
cosy, jolly, fun-provoking place to be in, where, as our guide 
remarked, " if there was any fun in a fellow it was going to 
show itself." We, in imitation of others before us who had 
written their names in every conceivable and reachable place 
in the building, registered and proceeded on our way to the 
summit. 




•* Pretty rough work," said Baldwin, " but hundreds of people 
come up every year and ride clear to the top. A big doctor 
came here from Buffalo with his family and a four-horse team 
that he had been all over the country with — a very valuable 
team, too, — and when he said he was going to the top of the 
mountain with them I tried to stop him, and I offered to get 
horses that were accustomed to the road for nothing, rather 
than have him hurt his, but no; 'other horses have been 
there, have they not?' said he, and when I told him yes, he 
said, • then mine can go ; ' so he took them out of the 
harness and put his wife, a woman that would weigh two 
hundred, on the finest one of the lot and started, and I felt 
bad for I knew something would happen, and they rode those 

horses to the very top and just turned around and " . We 

gazed down over the fearful precipice at our feet while oui 
nearts seemed to cease their motion as he slowly concluded — 
'* and rode down again without getting a scratch I " 



Old Whiteface. 67 

"But how can ladies manag^e to keep on the horses' backs, 
irhere it seems almost impossible for the horse to get along 
alone?" 

** Manage!" said he, " like a man, of course, astride, and it 
makes me laugh to see them sometimes when they find that 
they've got to go in that way. So modest when they start, 
some of them, that they are dreadfully afraid of showing their 
feet, but they soon get over that and come down with colors 
flying. I don't know as they would ever have done it if 
Mrs. Murray, wife of the Rev. Adirondack Murray, hadn't set 
the fashion herself. She's a dashing, independent sort ol 
woman, who don't let thoughts of what people may say inter- 
fere with her plans. Well, after Mrs. Murray set the example, 
we had no difficulty, and now lots of them go up in that way ; 
as, with the horses we have and a guide at their sides, there 
is not the slightest danger in making the ascent." The regu- 
lar price for a horse and guide is six dollars, or four dollars for 
the horse alone ; but unless a lady is perfectly at home in the 
saddle, she will be apt to wish she was "at home " in reality. 
It is needless to add that the Turkish costume is considered 
the most appropriate for this style of amusement. 

All the way up we had noticed fresh tracks maae by three 
several persons — one, a man's, which also appeared to have 
descended, and two evidently made by ladies — one short and 
thick, the other slender and dainty in its manner of touching 
the ground. It had been a matter of wonderment to us, and 
" Little Foot-prints," as we styled the owner of the dainty 
stepping foot, was a constantly recurring subject of specula- 
tion. "Where is Little Foot-prints? who is she? is she 
pretty? — of course. And the other — why are they appar- 
ently alone, when the Big Foot has gone back ? " questions 
that we hoped soon to solve ; questions that preyed upon the 
Professor, as the oft-twirled moustache and passage of hia 
fingers through his auburn locks would seem to indicate. Ot 
course it was nothing to me, and only out of mere curiosity 
that I managed to reach the top first, but "where was Little 
Foot-prints ? " Not there, certainly, for the summit, the sidea 
and the backbone of the mountain up over which we had 
passed were primeval, unyielding rock They had not re- 



68 The Adirondacks. 

turned by the path ; they might have plunged down the sides 
in some other direction, but the feeling took possession of us 
that our "Little Foot-pnnts " had taken wings and flown up 
among the angels, just a little higher than where we stood. 

How can I describe it — the wonderful beauty of the day, 
the clear, crisp atmosphere surrounding us — the great pur- 
ple-rimmed basin, in the center of which, lifted up on a pin- 
nacle, we stood, while the mighty, sweeping dome of heaven 
came down all around and blended with the mountain edges. 
A keen, wintry blast sweeping past, penetrating even through 
the heavy blankets that we had brought from the house below ; 
the bits of ground frozen nearly as hard as the rock on which 
they rested; every stunted bush and blade of coarse grass 
which clung to the wind-swept summit gleaming with frost 
needles and sparkling like spun glass in the bright sunshine 
while below, the country lay spread out in the glory of its 
autumnal dress, its gold and crimson, brown and green, its 
pearly lakes and threads of silver, its purple hills and mellow 
distance, over which lay a mantle of tender blue haze, seen 
only in autumn — not smoke — but something that suggests 
the thought of the myriad millions of pale, sweet ghosts ot 
falling leaves and dying flowers. Back toward the north ran 
the sharp ridge up which we had toiled, naked and dark for a 
quarter of a mile, then a stunted growth of balsams gnarled 
and twisted ; a few live branches low down at the surface, the 
tops dead and dry ; then, as we look further the spruce and 
cedar grow dark and thick down to the belts of birches and 
maples below. Away off to the east is Lake Champlain, lost 
in the mist toward the north, shut in by the Green Mountains, 
and beyond, the white hills of old New England. To the 
south lay the great peaks of the Adirondacks. " Haystack,' 
"Marcy " — the cloud-piercer of the Indians, '' Colden," with 
the white track of the avalanche down its side, and others — 
a long line of giants, their dark blue crests rising like ocean 
billows — grand and changeless in their mighty forms, over- 
whelming in their sublimity. 

Away toward the west a lower set of mountain waves are 
seen, over a comparatively level tract of country cut and out- 
lined with a confused network of ponds and streams, with 



Old Whiteface. 69 

nere and there a broad, shining sheet of water ; Lake Placid 
at our feet, the Saranacs and Big Tupper's farther away, and a 
host of others, too numerous to mention, while over the pur- 
ple rocky rim of the mountains to the north stretched the 
faint blue of the level Canadas, through which was the silvery 
gleam of the mighty St. Lawrence. 

Turning once more toward the grand Indian pass we see 
the fields of North Elba, and — a mere speck — the home and 
resting Dlace of old John Brown, From the pass above, the 
Ausable rises and comes toward us ; here and there we catch 
glimpses of it, a mere thread, through Wilmington Notch, 
under the great wall, through the natural flume at our feet, 
past the little village and away to Keeseville beyond which it 
plunges down over the rocks at Birmingham, and finds its 
way out through the dark chasm to Lake Champlain. 

Seventy years ago an avalanche of loose stones and the 
gathered moss and vegetable deposit of ages went down the 
western slope of this mountain and the exposed surface, 
whiter than the rest, is said to have given it the name ; but 
there is a more reasonable theory, as the line can hardly be 
noticed unless covered with snow, that the old giant's naked 
brow, for so long a period covered with snow, suggested the 
name of " Old Whiteface." On the topmost point, firmly at- 
tached to the rock, we found the card of the chief of the Adi- 
rondack Survey, a metallic disk with this inscription : " White- 
face Mountain, Station No. 2. Verplanck Colvin, S. N. Y. 
Adirondack Survey, 1872." All around, the surface of the 
rock was scarred and chiseled with the names of former visit- 
ors while on one, cut deep and clear, were the words. 

" Thanks be to God for the mountains ! " 
and every heart joined with that grand old mountain peak in 
saying, " thanks be to God for the mountams." A great, dark, 
litchen-covered, chaotic mass of broken rock forms the sum- 
mit ; to the north and south the ascent is gradual, but on 
either side it is almost perpendicular for many feet, then curves 
outward and is covered by the dark evergreens. We gazed 
iown from the dizzy height, 

" We heard the troubled flow 
Of the dark olive depths of pinea, rMOunding 
A tkousand feet below." 



70 The Adirondacks. 

We marked our homeward course through the glistening 
lakes, away around the blue serrated summit of Mount Sew- 
ard, then started on our descent. A sudden exclamation from 
our guide brought us to his side, where he was inspecting 
what we took to be the track of a naked foot 

" What is it ? " 

"A bar — been here since we went up — going down, proba- 
bly, to the blueberry patch. We may see him if we go careful." 

And carefully we went, following the track along out to the 
blueberry patch, and there we lost it We waited, watched 
and ate berries until the shadow of the mountain like a great 
pyramid reached out and touched the little village ; then we 
started. 

" Maybe you'd better lead," said Baldwin, making a desper 
ate effort to keep his feet from getting the advantage of him, 
while an ax, tin pail and sundry other articles jingled and 
thumped about on every side. " It bothers me to have folks 
treading on my heels." So lead we did — the result of which 
may be inferred from a remark he was overheard to make that 
night, to the eflfect that it beat somethin-or-other how tnem 
fellows came down that mountain, "and," said he, "when I'd 
get some ways behind I'd drop into a dog trot to catch up, 
then I'd hear that little fellow snicker and the long-legged 
one would c^ver six feet at a step." 



CHAPTER VI. 



•«ON THE ROAD 



'John Brown'* body lies a-mouldering In the gn,f% 
And hit soul goes marching on." — Old Sffttg;, 

nr^r?) C\ ^^ morning following our ascent of uld White- 
^-'^'^ ^^->, face, he had draped his shoulders in a mantle 
of mist, modestly hiding his face in the clouds, 
and although the sun came out toward noon 
and the clouds went scurrying across the sky 
like a routed army before the advance of an 
enemy, a legion still hung around his iron 
head, skulked in the rents and hollows of his 
furrowed side and crowded close under the 
lee of his protecting form. It was interesting 
to watch this vast host — this white-robed 
army of the sky — seeming almost human in 
itF maneuverings to gain a place of safety 
trom the fierce west winds which tore it into fragments and 
strung it out into shreds, and rolled it up into great balls to 
be dashed against the mountain, and separating, pass on either 
side to wheel into line beyond, or entering the surface current 
mount up the steep, and shooting out over the sharp crest, 
curl downward into the billowy mass below, where it clung 
like some tattered signal of distress, its ragged, wind-whipped 
end stretching away out toward the east. 

After dinner we took a carriage, sandwitched the driver be- 
tween us, and started for North Elba. Att. Clyne was the 
driver's name, a pleasant young fellow, who had rather hear 
or tell a good story than to eat, and that is saying a good deal 
for him . He inaugurated a series by telling of the wonderful 
speed of the particular beast behind which we were riding, 
the truth of which he would demonstrate when we arrived at 




72 The Adirondacks. 

a suitable piece of road. We never came to that suitable 
piece. Once we thougiit we had, and he encouraged her a 
little with the whip. She felt encouraged for about ten feet, 
and then rested while we got out and strapped a couple of 
pieces of whiffletree together which we had discovered dang- 
ling at her feet , then we went ahead carefully. About two 
miles south of Wilmington is the natural flume, a long furrow 
through the rock like the track of a giant plowshare, through 
which the water shoots like a flash of light. Some call it a 
wonder ; but, with the fellow at Niagara, we might say " it 
would be a greater wonder if the water didnt come down, it 
comes so easy." Our road still led up along the river, now 
flashing out broad in the sunlight as it rippled over the stones, 
now quiet, and then plunging over the "big falls" seeming to 
lose itself in the cavernous depths below. 

Wilmington Pass is the natural gateway to North Elba 
from the north, a notch cut out of the mountain, through 
which the west branch of the Ausable flows, it is one of the 
finest, if not the finest, combination of river, rock and moun- 
tain scenery to be found in the Adirondacks, and was especi- 
ally beautiful in its autumn dress, as we saw it on that early 
October day. The road ran along up by the river, fringed and 
canopied by the crimson and yellow maples, the great, ragged, 
rough-aimed birches, the cone-shaped balsam, the dainty- 
limbed tamarack and scarlet-berried mountain ash. The paw 
seems to have been caused by some mighty power that turn- 
ing neither to the right nor left, struck this mountain range 
and passed through and onward, carrying every thing before 
it out on the plain beyond, leaving the broken walls on eithei 
side to frown down on the torn rocks below, and, when the 
tempest raged, to thunder back defiance at each other. Then 
time covered the rocks with mosses, the floods brought 
rich offerings and dropped them in the bottom-land, trees 
sprang up and others found lodgment in the cleft rocks, and 
now all is covered with nature's mantle. No, not all, for at 
our left, the naked rock rises up, straight up, fully five hun- 
dred feet, at places even projecting beyond its base and seem- 
ing ready to fall as great masses have already fallen, through 
■nd around which the road poes, at times with barely suffir'- 



*On the ivOAD. 



ent room to pass between them and the narrow, swift-niuning 
river on the other side. Across the river at our right is a 
narrow fringe of bottom-land trees, then rising, precipice 
above precipice, and cliff on cliff, is Old Whiteface, his feet 

washed by the river, his head still among the clouds, and . 

There stands that fast beast out to the* full extent of the reins, 
with the pieces of broken whiffletree on either side. 

" Gr — ROOP ! " The sound was richly musical and unmis- 
takably Africaa for " get-up." We were resting, if you please, 
three of us in a buggy, right in the middle of the road, the 
Professor and I rapturously enjoying the lovely scenery and 
mnocently talking about subjects entirely foreign to the situ- 
ation, while " Att." sat squeezed in between us, holding on to 
one end of the reins and using some very choice language in 
regard to the mare who stood out at the other, looking around 
occasionally to see why some one didn't make a move to get 
her back where she belonged. 

" Gr-roop ! " Letters cannot express the sound. The 
nearest approach to it is when some sea-sidk mortal rushes to 
the vessel's side and vainly attempts to give up his own din- 
ner to the fishes. We got out and tied the traces back to the 
cross-bar, put the broken whiffletree in the wagon and sent 
"Att." forward to make repairs. 

" Gr-roop ! " whack t a paii 
of sorry-looking objects ap- 
peared over the brow of a 
little knoll behind us, rising 
slowly as rises the stately 
ship above the watery hori- 
zon, first two pairs of hairy 
ears, then a pair of venera- 
ble heads swaying from side 
to side, then their entire 
forms loomed above the 
sandy horizon, and we looked 
r.R— ROOP. ^p through a swaying thicket 

of lejfs and straps and wooden bar* 




74 The Adirondacks. 

"Camels, by darn 1 " said the Professor excitedly, catching 
•ilfht of what appeared to be the hump peculiar to the " ship 
of the desert" 

No, not camels. Professor, but ancient specimens of horse 
architecture; style, gothic, with a tendency toward many 
gables, and that which you think the hump is a French roof 
of buffalo skin to protect them, or the harness, or both, from 
the rain. Framed in nature's noblest mold tb<i<fP beasts un- 
doubtedly were ; but the party who supplied the flesh wai 
apparently short of material, or else they were clothed in 
their summer suit Their harness fenced them in and bound 
them round about suggesting suspicion of a latent fire within 
that might, if aroused, burst forth and rend straps of an 
ordinary width, as the lightning shivers the mighty oak.— 
Straps ? they crossed and covered those noble animals until 
they looked like a railroad map of Massachusetts, and at 
every crossing was a big patch of buffalo skin. They looked 
kindly at us, with eyes out of which all coltish frivolity had 
long since flown. Then the expression seemed to change to 
one of mild surprise as the wagon gently pressed against them 
and they found it easier to trot down the hill than to hold 
back. As they forged up alongside they stopped. They had 
evidently been driven by a sewing machine agent or some 
candidate for office, and thought they must stop for every 
man they saw. We instantly propounded the following co- 
nundrum to the driver : 

"Why can't we ride in that extra seat? " 

He gave it up at once and we got aboard the buckboard. 
** Gr-Toop \ " wAac^/ we were under way. The driver was a 
good-looking fellow, intelligent, well-informed, and decidedly 
attractive in his way, even if his skin was a few shades darker 
than regulation and his hair unexplorable in its kinkiness. 
We inquired his destination and he told as Nu'th Elba. As 
St Helena suggests the first Napoleon, so Noitn Elba brings 
with it the picture of an old man with white hair and flowing 
*f hite beard, crazy some said, but with wonderful method in 
his madness; a carpet-bagger in Kansas where he took an 
active part in the troubles which in 1856 assumed the formid- 
able proportions of a civil war ; the " Old man of 08awat«> 



John Brown. 



inie," whose presence was marked by dissensions and blood- 
shed ; who urged men on to murder in the name of freedom 

and read his Bible all the 
time* who in 1859, with a 
mere handful of men, 
struck the first hard blow 
at the institution of slavery 
in the South, and which, 
probably, more than the 
eloquence of all the Phil- 
lips and Sumners in the 
world, tended to precipi- 
tate the war by which, 
through rivers ot blood, 
four million slaves went 
free. He was called "a 
visionary," "an old fool," 
but men who have given 
the subject study say that 
it was the best organized 
- ^^ conspiracy that ever failed, 

the entire Southern States. 
The blow struck at Harper's Ferry was to be the signal for a 
general uprising of the blacks, but he misjudged his men 
and — failed. 

A fanatic he undoubtedly was. He seemed to feel that 
he was specially called not only to free but to educate the 
blacks. He secured a large tract of land here at North 
Elba to demonstrate his theory, and had established quite a 
colony. Then feeling that the time had come, he, with three 
sons, a son-in-law and a few others who had become converted 
to his belief— twenty-two in all — played at Harper's Ferry — 
and lost. They were soon surrounded, and the negroes, to 
whom they trusted so much, let them fight it out alone. One 
son escaped, another was shot dead, and still another lay 
dying by his side, while the old man fought on ; and at last, 
when overpowered and compelled to surrender, he locked the 
secrets he possessed in his breast that his friends might not 




76 The Adirondacks. 

•uffer, and died as he had lived, firm in the faith that i« some 
manner he was the divinely appointed agent who was to lead 
his children out of the land of bondage. He mui mured not 
against the people for whom he suffered, who had deserted 
him is his direst need, but stopped to kiss a little negro baby 
on his way to the scaffold, seeming to show by the act, how 
willingly he laid down his life for them and the cause he had 
espoused.* 
Then the body of old John Brown, the convicted murderei 

• -this felon with the mark of the hangman's rope on his 
neck — was taken down from the gallows and borne through 
the country whose laws he had transgressed, while bells tolled 
and cities were draped in mourning for his sake, to his old 
home among the mountains — For he had said : " When I die, 
bury me by the big rock where I love to bit and read the word 
of God," and there, one terribly cold day in bleak Decembei, 
a few who had loved the old man, laid his body and covered 
it up in the frozen ground, 

** And his Boul goM marohl&f oa.** 

Yes, the spirit of old John Brown goes marching on, and 
with it, keeping time to the music of the old song, whole 
armies marched to battle, and with the victory came that for 
which the old man worked and died. 

" Gr-roop ! " whack t Back to the reality of a darkey belab- 
oring a pair of absent-minded and almost absent-bodied 
horses, and they supremely unconscious of the fact. We ven- 
tured to inquire if our driver was one of John Brown's pet 
lambs, and he with, as Mrs. Partington would say, considerable 
"asparagrass," gave us to understand that he was not. 

"He established a colony of blacks up here, didn't he?" 

" Yes, sah, but they ain't heah now. We are the only family 
of colo'd folks in town." 

" Where are they now ? " 

" All gone." " Gr-roop I " whack I " See dat boss — Gone j 
nobody knows where." 

•• How many were there of them ? " 

«*Mcbbe fifteen or twenty families— don't know, didn't 
think much of 'em.'' 

* See Note on page 82. 



•*On the Road." 7^ 

** Slaves, I suppose, that the old man had run in here from 
the South ? " 

" No, sah, not one. G'lang ! " 

" Where did he get them ? " 

" Oh, from New York, mostly, I guess — not much account- 
Niggers. Gr-roop ! what you 'bout ? " 

" He was generally considered a fanatic, wasn't he ? ' 

" San ? " 

" You thought him a monomaniac ? " 

"A — yes, sah. Ge-Zon^, ihzh." 

*' You say they are all gone ; what has become of them ? " 

"Don't know; they couldn't make a livin' heah ; too cold 
for 'em ; wa'nt much used to work, I guess, an' couldn't stan' 
the kind they got heah. Most of 'em was barbers an' sich, 
who thought they wouldn't have nothing to do when they 
come heah, an' after the old man died they couldn't get along, 
so they dug out, some of 'em, an' some of 'em died, an* one 
ole niggah froze to death." 

" How was that ? " 

" Well, he went out huntin' one day in winter and got lost 
in the woods. He had a compass with him, but when they 
found him they found where he had sat down on a log and 
ficked his co7npass to pieces, and then sot there till he froze to 
death." 

It is a well-known fact that some unused to the woods will 
become so effectually " turned around " that they will be cer- 
tain that something is the matter with the compass to make 
it point wrong, and even distrust the sun itself if it happens 
t3 be in a different position from that which they think it 
ought to be. 

" Deni bosses gettin' kinder tired," remarked their master ; 
" don't get along over this road very fast." 

We accepted the information with polite incredulity, as is 
becoming in those to whom an unnoticed fact is fiist made 
apparent. 

" Been on the road a whole week — " 

" Getting from the Forks?" we innocently inquired. 

" Oh, no, sah ; it's only fiflee." miles to 'Sable Forks. I've 



78 The Adirondacks. 

been canyln* a young lady 'round to see the country, drlviii 
them hosses steady for a week — " 

"Without feeding? Well, now, I don't wonder they — " 

" No, no, sah ; I feed 'em reg'lar, only they run out all sum 
mer an' I haven't got the hard feed in 'em yet. They ain't 
very fat just now, but they's good hosses for all that." 

Then he whipped up lively for two or three rods past a 
hanty, where we saw Att. busily engaged on what he was 
pleased to call a whiflfletree, to take the place of the broken 
one. Then we > good-bye to our sable friend and sat 

down by the river o make a sketch of the scene. Feeble 

and unsatisfactory, perhaps, but a shadow, at least a sugges- 
tion, of foaming, sparkling sun-bright water, dancing along 
among the stones ; great, shaggy, yellow birches, golden 
beeches, crimson maples and tangled depths of dark green, 
while through openings in the trees, the gray cliff showed 
gland and strong, appearing even greater than itself through 
the tender blue of the luminous haze that intervened. Then 
we all got in behind the fast horse and continued on our way. 
Up along the river, through a dark, level tract, almost a swamp, 
where the balsams grew thick and the trailing moss hung in 
masses from their branches, out into the open country, where 
we saw pleasant homes, well tilled fields, and the river wind- 
ing smoothly through the fertile meadows of North Elba. 

After a while we came to a place where the houses were a 
little nearer together than anywhere else along the road, so 
we called that North Elba; but the population is rather thin 
at the best, and the country to a great extent devoted to 
grazing and grass growing. Winter up there seems to be the 
chief season and never disappoints them in coming, and it is 
seldom that a year passes when snow is not seen on the moun- 
tains near by every month excepting August. It is said to be 
very healthy, so much so that the only manner of taking ofl 
is a habit they have of freezing to death, and when this hap- 
pens, as is often the case in summer, they do not find it nec- 
essary to bury them, but (if Att. is to be believed) simply lay 
them away somewhere exposed to the pure balsamic air and 
in the course of six or seven weeks they moss over. John 
Brown was only covered up as a protection against curiositT 



North Elba. 



79 



hunters, who have a habit of chopping oft pieces ot fossils 
and the like, and who have broken off pieces of his tombsionc 
to such an extent that it had to be boxed up to keep enough 
for directory purposes. 

Here at North Elba we strike the post-road, running in a 
north-westerly direction from Elizabethtown to the Saranac 
lakes. Turning to the right we proceeded about a mile until 
at the entrance to a lane, which led off toward the south, we 
saw a sign bearing the inscription, "John brown Farm, Re- 
freshments if desired " (at least that is what we made it out to 
be), together with an index finger, which was probably painted 
by some admirer of the old man's to indicate his present home, 
which direction, if fgllowed, would take the traveler several 
degrees higher than we could hope to get in the Adirondacks, 
so we took the middle course — the lane— through a strip ol 
woods, into the open field, and with the dusk of a solemn twi- 
light settling down over us, stood by the great rock that he 
loved so well and by the side of which, at his own requst, he 
was buried. The farm is shut in on all sides by the thick 
forests which, on the south, stretch 
away in unbroken solitude to Indian 
Pass and the great peaks of the Adi- 
londacks. It has been purchased by 
a company at whose head as prime 
mover stands Kate Field, and now 
held as a sort of public park which 
is annually visited by hundreds who, 
from curiosity or reverence for the 
old saint, make pilgrimages to their 
Mecca ot fanaticism. The house and 
outbuildings stand in the open field ; 
near by is the " big rock " and grave, 
surrounded by a rough board fence. 
As we entered the inclosure a lit- 
tle girl came out to remove the box 
from the headstone, which it was 
found necessary to cover to pre- 
serve from the destroying hand of 
the relic-hunter. Unlocking and 




The Adirondacks. 

removing the box we saw an old fashioned, time-stained, 
granite-like stone, the corners chipped and broken off, and 
defaced so that in places some of the inscription was entirely 
gone. The upper half was in the quaint characters of "ye 
olden time," the lower half ot a recent date ; the face bore the 
following inscription ; 

" In memory of Capt** John Brow Who Died At Newyork 
Sept' Ye 3 1776 in the 42 year of his Age. 

"John Brown Born May 9 1800 was executed at Charleston, 
Va, Dec, 2. 1859. 

"Oliver Brown Born Mar. 9, 1839, was Killed at Harpers 
Ferry Oct. 17. 1859." 

On the back was the following: 

"In memory of Frederick son of John and Dianth Brown, 
Born Dec 21. 1830 and murdered at Osawatomie, Kansas, Aug 
30. 1856 for his adherence to the cause of Freedom." 

" Watson Brown, Born Oct 7, 1835 was wounded at Haroera 
Ferry & died Oct. 19, 1859."* 

The grave was strewn with faded flowers ; a florist's leaden 
cross and crown filled with the same lay on the little mound, 
and under it the body of Old John Brown, alone ! of his large 
family not one remaining to watch over him, but in their place 
strangers, who knew less of the old man than we who lived 
far away. His widow, and five children out of his twenty, are 
still living, it is said, scattered over the West, some of them 
in California, some nearer. 

The stone which marks the head of his grave was brought 
from Massachusetts and placed where it now stands, and we 
were told that the " Capin " John Brown, whose name heads 
the list, was his father, in which case (if the Captain was his 
father) he must have been born an orphan, as this one died 
something over twenty-three years before young John was 
born. In fact there must be some mistake about it somewhere, 
as even after careful investigation there we could not find out 
that he ever had 2i father, and wc would respectfully suggest 
that it receive the attention of the geneological authors, who, 
for the paltry sura of a hundred dollars. wiU U-ace any man's 

• See note *' B *' on inge 8^ 



** Business." 8i 

pedigree back in an unbroken line to dukes and earU, oi 
better even for an additional inducement We passed up over 
the big rock bearing the inscription, cut in large letters, 
"John Brown, 1859," and to the house to learn something 
more concerning it. 

" Don't you want to stay all night? " said the little girl, with 
in eye to business. 

I glanced at the grave, the cold rock and the dreary, dark- 
ening fields around, and said **No." Then a boy member ol 
the family cornered Att, and eloquently held up to him the 
advantages of seeing the " stun " by daylight ; but Att. couldn't 
see it Then the loquacious lady of the house met the Profes- 
sor at the door with the continuation of what the boy and girl 
had started, but the Professor being a modest man threw the 
responsibility on me, and, alas ! all / wanted was information. 

" We can accommodate you if you want to stay," said she, 
bringing the register. 

We said no again, counted, and found that over four hundred 
besides ourselves had registered during the summer. 

" Got as good rooms as anybody, and every body who has 
stopped here has been satisfied," continued she insinuatingly. 

"Almost everybody buy these," said the little girl, produc- 
ing a pair of stereographs of th« grave and rock ; " fifty cents 
for the two." 

We meekly produced the plaster and inquiredif they owned 
the place. 

'* No," said the mother, " we've only been here a little while, 
but take in strangers who want to stay all night and—" 

" This is the house old John Brown used to occupy, isn't it ? " 

" Yes, but we've fitted it up new some since, and now you 
can't find any better rooms — " 

" What has become of the widow and children ? '* 

"I don't know just where, but out West somewhere, I be- 
ieve. We just take care of it and keep folks who — " 

•* It seems to be all forests to the south ; is there a path 
leading from here to the Indian Pass ? " 

" Yes, parties often come through it and stop over night or 
get something to eat ; and I don't like to say it myself, but 
thcf always seem satisfied with our fare. Now — " 



82 The Adirondacks. 

** I am gathering information for a book on the Adirondacks, 
which is my reason for asking so many questions. Now 11 
you have any interesting information concerning this locality 
I will be—" 

"Well, now, I think if people knew that we were prepared 
to keep folks and was always prepared to get up meals, with 
game and trout always on hand, they would come more ; and 
if you will just state — " 

"All right; ^^(?^ evening, madam." 

•• We should like to — folks say they were just as well kept 
as at a hotel — might just mention trout — ^game dinners — veni- 
son nearly all the time — barn room — people — haven't — found 
— it — out — much — yet — it's — ^getting purty — dark — hadn't— 
you — better — stay. And as we passed out of hearing the 
thought would come that if the old man could sleep there un- 
moved for a term of years, the angel Gabriel would have to 
be in pretty good lip to start him at the end of that time. 

Note A. — Hon. Orange Ferriss, Commissioner of Claims at Washington, is authority 
for the statement made to him by Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas, that a design was 
formed to liberate John Brown, in pursuance of which 40 determined men met at 
Charleston, previous to the execution, thoroughly organized and with a plan which 
could not have failed, if undertaken under the existing circumstances. The old man 
was notified of the proposed attempt, but the spirit which had actuated him all along 
spoke in hfs reply : " No ; I am of more use to the cause now dead than living "; and 
he died for the cause when life could have been his for the asking. True to his mem- 
ory is the State which has placed among the honored ones at the national capital the 
statue of the champion of bleeding Kansas— "the old man of Ossawotomie." 

Note B. — The body of Watson Brown was brought here and laid near the father, 
October 12, 1882, after remaining unburied for nearly twenty-three years. Considered 
by the authorities of Virginia as that of a great criminal, it was given after death to 
the Medical College at Winchester, and there preserved as an anatomical specimen — 
the mother appealing in vain for the privilege of giving it Christian burial. Later, 
when the town was occupied by the Union forces, it was carried off by an Indiana 
surgeon, and kept by him as a curiosity, until in 1882, when he informed the survivors 
of its whereabouts and offered to restore it for more decent interment. From Indiana 
the poor buffeted body went to the mother in, Ohio, and finally here, accompanied by 
her, the brothers Owen and John, Jr., sister and widDw , and was finally laid to rest 
beside the " big rock," where he had played as a boy, while learning strange theonei 
J " duty." 




CHAPTER VII. 

North Elba — Lake Placid — The St. Regis and 
Saranac Regions. 

^..^ORTH ELBA and Lake Placid can be reached 
^^^"^ from Westport and Elizabethtown by stage 
daily during the season of summer travel. The 
route leads through a country beautiful in natu- 
ral attractions, passing at the south base of 
Hurricane peak and through the northern por- 
tion of Keene Valley. 

Keene is a pretty little mountain -girded ham- 
let, with churches, telegraph and telephone of- 
fices, and a number of stores of a sedate and peaceful char- 
acter. The great mountains are on the east and west, and the 
east branch of the Au Sable River runs north through the 
picturesque lowlands. 

The Keene Centre House furnishes comfortable accom- 
modations to travelers at $2.50 per day; $10 to $15 per week, 
and is open the year round. 

Cascade Lakes, formerly known as Edmond's Ponds, are 
six miles west of Keene, and a thousand feet higher; their al- 
titude being 2,038 feet above tide. The road follows up be- 
side the brawling stream that comes through a notch in the 
west mountains, and strikes the main lake at its east end; 
thence follows along, on the north shore, for something over 
a mile, when the west, or upper, lake is reached. Long Pond 
Mountain rises abruptly along the south side, and Pitchofl 
Mountain on the north ; forming a narrow defile, where the 
lake lies like a deep, still river, while the road holds a preca- 
rious footing on the debt-is that has fallen from the cliffs above. 
Originally one continuous strip of water, it was divided into 



84 The Adirondacks. 

two, near the western extremity, by a deposit evidently brought 
down by the stream which foams over the precipitous wall on 
the south, in a succession of cascades, a thousand feet in ex- 
tent — in the rainy season, a foaming torrent; in .time of 
drouth, a mere thread of silver hanging down over the dark 
rocks. 

The Cascade Lake House stands nearly opposite, on the 
only available bit of land found in this part of the notch. It 
was built in 1878. W.F. & S.H. Weston, proprietors, P. O., Cas- 
cadeville. It is 16 miles from this point to Saranac Lake, 
nine miles* to Lake Placid, and 26 miles to the railroad at 
Wc stport. A broad, double piazza faces south, commanding 
a view up and down the two lakes, and of the Cascade across 
the way; affording a delightful lounging place of a hot day, 
when the wind, which is seldom still here, draws up or down 
the notch. The house is provided with fireplaces and is com- 
fortable and homelike. The post office is in the house, as 
is also a telegraph office. The fare is excellent and abun- 
dant. Board, $3.00 per day; $12 to $17.50 per week, children 
under 10 years of age, special. Very satisfactory to the 
transient guest are the dinners served here at $1.00. For 
amusement, space has been found for an enclosed tennis 
court out under the trees; for croquet, another bit reclaimed 
near the house ; and still other space for a bowling alley was 
made close by. There are boats for guests on both lakes; 
large, comfortable ones for the timid; light, guiding-boats for 
the hunter and fisherman. These lakes are owned by the 
proprietors of the Cascade Lake House, and held by them 
exclusively for their guests. Originally noted for its big trout, 
the waters have been stocked and the fish guarded, until now 
rod and fly are certain to yield good sport at almost any 
season. To the lover of nature in her wildest shapes^ nobler 
surroundings can hardly be imagined. 

West of Cascade Lakes the road climbs up out of the notch, 
and passing through occasional clearings, crosses over to the 
more level land of North Elba, 



North Elba. 



85 




CASCADE LAKH HOUSE. 



The Mountain View House is four miles west of the Cas- 
cade Lakes. It commands a view of rare beauty and extent, 
well entitling it to its chosen name. This house is perhaps 
better known as Ames'. It has earned a well-deserved reputa- 
tion for homelike comfort and hospitality ; and in addition to 
considerable transient custom, gets its full quota of those who, 
for sanitary reasons, seek the healing air of this high plain. 
The house will provide for 35 guests. The accommodations 
are good; the fare wholesome and satisfying, and the service 
very pleasant and agreeable. Open from July ist to October 
ist, Board, $8 to $12 per week; $2 per day; 50 cents per 
meal. Telegraph office in the house. P. O., Cascadeville. 
Mrs. M. S. Ames & Son, proprietors. 

From the Mountain View House it is 22 miles to Eliza- 
bethtown, stage fare $2.50. To Lake Placid, 5 miles, 50 
cents. To Saranac Lake, 13 miles, $1.50. 

Toward the south, the slope stretches away down into the 
valley, then rises in long, sweeping lines to the foothills, 
thence to higher ridges and peaks, and finally to the grand 
heights of distant Marcy, the highest mountain in the State, 
and to Mclntire, but little less in stature, the central 



86 The Adirondacks. 

figure in this mountain picture, flanked as it is by Wallface 
on the west guarding the famous Indian Pass, and Mt. Golden 
on the east across the wild notch where repose the waters 
of Avalanch Lake. Throughout all this extent of valley 
and mountain side, the forests are as nature left them, for 
the rugged nature of the country has been a check on the 
lumberman's avarice, and the charcoal burner even has 
stayed his devastating hand. 

Outlined against the broad chest of ]\lclntire — in reality 
a spur from its side — is a lower summit, Mt. Jo, sometimes 
called the Bear. Between this and the main mountain, 
more than 2,000 feet above tide, rests Clear Lake, a lovely 
sheet of water of about 30 acres in extent, with shores of 
white sand and a border of shrubs and trees remaining in 
all their native beauty. 

Adirondack Lodge stands here on the east shore of the 
lake, almost hidden among the trees save where its high 
tower lifts its head above their tops. This is a new de- 
parture in rustic architecture, and forms one of the most 
unique and picturesque structures in the country ; a resort 
for nature's lovers, where nature's handiwork has been 
respected. It is of logs, 96 feet front, 36 feet deep, and 
three stories high, with a rear wing of almost equal size. 
Forming a part of the building is a substantial tower also of 
logs, rising above the tree tops and affording such a view as 
can be found at no other house in the Adirondacks, for 
with a widely extended vision, not a sign of civilization can 
be discerned. A broad piazza surrounds the lower portion 
of the house, its upper deck reached from the rooms above 
or by rustic outside stairs. Everything about the house or 
grounds evinces the cultivated taste of the owner, for the 
same sentiment that protected hoary tree and graceful shrub 
alike, made cunning joints among the logs, and left their 
rugged bark intact so that every pilaster, balustrade or rail- 
ing is still clothed in the rich brown covering that nature 
gave it. Within, the same good taste prevails. The walls 



88 The Adirondacks. 

are plastered, to be sure, and noise-deadened, but paint and 
Brussels carpeting are tabooed as not in keeping with the 
place, the furniture hard wood, plain and substantial. 
Fireplaces make the principal rooms comfortable on occa- 
sion. An electric annunciator puts sleeping rooms and 
office in communication. The beds are of the best. The 
windows are large single panes of plate glass in swinging 
sash. A well at the door with old-fashicned wheel and 
bucket furnishes the best tonic to be found here or any- 
where else. A lawn tennis and croquet ground in an 
opening near the lake ; swings and arbors among the trees, 
and boats on the water afford means of quiet amusement. 
There are trails to the summit of neighboring mountains for 
those who favor long tramps, and shorter walks for those less 
robust. To the top of Marcy is 7 J miles. Top of Mclntyre,4j. 
To Avalanch Lake, 5 miles. To Indian Pass, 6 miles. To 
top of Mt. Jo is a 45 minutes' scramble. A bridle path leads 
through South Meadow to Edmonds Ponds, 8 miles distant. 
It is about 5 miles by road to the main thoroughfare, which 
is touched | of a mile west of Ames'. This road built 
specially for the house presented great difficulties in con- 
struction, which, however, were successfully overcome. 
Through the season a buckboard stage conveys passengers 
and mails to connect at Transfer with Elizabethtown and 
Saranac Lake line. Fare, $1.00. 

Guides, tents and suitable clothing for the purpose may 
be procured here by parties desiring to go into camp. Ca- 
pacity of house and camps, about 100. Board per day, $4 ; 
per week, from $16 upward. Henry Van Hoevenbergh, 
proprietor. P. O. address, Cascadeville, N. Y. 

The Au Sable River is crossed 2 miles west of Ames'. A 
half mile further, a sign on the left points south toward the 
last resting place of old John Brown, and another mile brings 
us to where the main road is left for Mirror and Placid 
Lakes lying at the north. 

Mirror Lake is about one mile long by one-third that 
in width, its north end separated from Lake Placid by only 



Lake Placid. 89 

a narrow strip of land. The attractions here have led to a 
phenomenal development, and the prospects are that in time 
a considerable village will line its shores. The post office is 
" Lake Placid." 

Mirror Lake Hotel is first as you approach from the 
south. It stands at the south end of Mirror Lake, command- 
ing a view of the lake toward the east and north, the pictur- 
esque village of Lake Placid struggling along its shores, a bit 
of Lake Placid itself, and Whiteface Mountain beyond, while 
stretched along the southern sky, is the grand panorama of 
mountain peaks. It is a roomy structure, with the necessary 
comforts of the great hotel of the day It has ample piazzas 
and public rooms, electric light, steam heat, an elevator. It is 
furnished richly and comfortably. It has spacious halls and 
sleeping rooms with high ceilings, and it is capable of thorough 
ventilation and of the most perfect sanitary conditions. Within 
are billiards and bowling. Without, all amusements common 
to out-door life are at command. Here grace-giving tennis 
and the more sedate croquet, claim each their admirers, while 
those who would row or fish can be provided with all that is 
necessary for comfort or pleasure. Riding and driving, staple 
amusements the world over, may be indulged in here, and 
those who care to, can find ample facilities and ways that may 
be varied at will and found interesting always. 

There is a telegraph office in the hotel, and mails come and 
go twice a day. Stages arrive and depart for the railroad at 
Saranac Lr.ke, morning and afternoon, and run daily to Keene 
Valley, E'lzabethtown, and Westport, and to Au Sable Chasm. 

The Grand View House, standing on the hill at the west 
is owned by the same company as the Mirror Lake House and 
is under the same management. This house is appropriately 
named, for not only does it command the view at north, east 
and south, common to all, but also the quiet of the spreading 
forest toward the west, and the far-away mountains that lie 
about Saranac Lake. This house with its attendant building, 
linked to it by a coveied walk, contains some very desirable 



Lake Placid. 91 

rooms, quiet and free from the bustle of the great hotels with 
its attendant throng. 

Accommodations are provided altogether for 500 guests. 
Rates $4 per day; $20.00 to $35.00 per week. H. B. Isham, 
who achieved astonishing success here in 1889, is manager. 

12 3 4 5 6 7 




THE GREAT PEAKS PROST LAKE PLACID. 

1 Gothic. 2 Saddleback. 3 Basin. 4 Marey. 5 Colden. Mclntjre. 7 Indian Pass. 

The Stevens House built in 1886 is on the highland that 
separates Mirror Lake from Lake Placid. J. A. & G. A. 
Stevens, proprietors. 

This is one of the largest and best equipped houses and 
commands undoubtedly the most comprehensive view of any 
hotel in the Adirondacks. It stands 200 feet above the lake, 
whose surface is 1,863 ^eet higher than the sea. From this 
point may be counted a score of the great peaks. In the 
southwest is distant Seward ; further west is Ampersand ; just 
over the water, at the north, is dark McKenzie; in the north- 
east, beyond the broad surface of Lake Placid, is the bold 
crest of Old Whiteface. East and south are Pitchoff, Long 
Pond, and Porter ; and, stretching along toward the west, a 
long line of giants, are the Gothics, Basin, Marcy, Colden, 
Mclntyre, and the mountains west of Indian Pass. Nearer 
are the cleared fields of North Elba, and the old John Brown 
homestead. At our feet are the waters of Mirror Lake, and 
the collection of native and summer cottages constituting the 
hamlet of Lake Placid. 

The house has a front of over 200 feet, is four stories high, 
with piazzas on every side, affording choice of wind or sun, 
and with recent additions affording accommodations for nearly 



92 The Adirondacks. 

400 guests. The parlors and dining-room have each an area 
of about 3,000 square feet. It is lighted by electricity. A 
hydraulic pump forces water to all parts of the house, and, 
with hose attachment, is guard against possible fire. The bed- 
ding, carpets, etc., came from Arnold, Constable & Co. The 
beds are of woven wire, and with hair mattresses. The sani- 
tary conditions are believed to be perfect. Telegraph office 
in the house. 

The Messrs. Stevens are also owners of the old Lake Placid 
House and property ; which, with the land belonging to the 
Stevens House, comprises all that section lying between Mirror 
Lake and Lake Placid. This property has been laid out in 
building lots. Several cottages stand here, others will be built 
soon, and, in the near future, one may reasonably expect to see 
this entire slope occupied by elegant villas or cosy cottages, as 
individual taste may dictate. This is a very desirable place for 
a summer cottage, being sightly and cool; while its elevated 
position and the nature of the soil places it above any sugges- 
tion of unwholesome air or conditions. 

Stages : O'Brian & Vail's stages run to connect with all trains 
at Saranac Lake, nine miles distant. Fare $1.25. Agnew 
Brothers' stages connect with evening trains, north and south, at 
Westport. Distance, 35 miles. Fare, $4. 

The Lake Placid House is at the head of Mirror Lake, 
east of the Stevens House, with room for about 60. Rates, 
$2.50 per day, $15 per week. Open June to October 15. 
Mrs. M. S. Elmendorf, proprietor. 

Lake Placid is over at the north and, although distant from 
Mirror Lake but a little way, the two are effectually separated 
by the ridge that runs between them. It is in shape oblong, 
something over 4 miles in length and about 2 broad, measuring 
through or between the islands, of which there are three, called 
respectively Hawk, Moose and Buck. Hawk is small, but 
Moose and Buck are larsre, beautiful islands in a line from the 



The Adirondacks. 93 

first toward the southwest, the three dividing the sheet into 
what are locally known as the east and west lakes, making it 
resemble a large river sweeping around them rather than a lake 
with islands. • 

The Westside Hotel is near the southern extremity of 
the lake and about 40 feet above its surface. In front, a broad 
passage leads into the East Lake. Through this is seen the 
striking bluff known as the Devil's Pulpit, the mountains 
around Wilmington Pass, and in the distance, Marcy and 
other peaks. The West Lake, stretching northeast, forms the 
middle ground of a picture of which the distance is the rugged 
and noble contour ot Whiteface — a view pronounced by many 
the finest of this famous peak. Behind and on either hand is 
the forest into which run pleasant walks and bridle paths, one 
of the latter extending to the top of Colborn Peak, a half 
mile distant. The house is three stories, with spacious 
rooms, and wide, double piazzas on the north, south and east 
sides. Oliver Abell, proprietor. 

Near by is the summer camp of E. D. Bartlett, one of the 
most extensive and elaborate of the wilderness, and highly ar- 
tistic as a whole. " Castle Rustico," on the west shore, op- 
posite Moose Island, is open for guests. It is an immense, 
gabled structure of logs, rough outside and rustic in. W. F. 
Leggett, proprietor. Under-Cliff Cottage, on the west shore 
of the lake, belongs to Dr. C. D. Alton, of Hartford, Conn. 
Originally a private camp, it has been added to, and as a 
" sanitarium " offers accommodations to invalids. For terms 
address Dr. Alton at Hartford, until July ist. Through the 
summer address at Lake Placid. Paradox Pond is simply a 
bay connected with the lake at its southwest extremity. 

Chubb River, the outlet of Lake Placid, runs toward the 
southwest, and. in circling around toward the east approaches 
quite near to Paradox Pond, very nearly creating another 
large island. It is crossed a short distance from where the 
road comes out on the shore of Mirror Lake, in approaching 
from the south, and soon after joins with the Au Sable to pass 
through Wilmington Notch. 



94 The Adirondacks. 

The Elba House, on the main road, two miles south of 
Lake Placid, will provide for i8 boarders. It is quaint and 
picturesque. Of old it was known as Lyons' Hotel. It has 
now been repaired and refurnished under a new management 
and furnishes comfortable quarters for i8 boarders. Rates 
$1.50 per day; $6.00 to $8.00 per week. Open from June 
ist to November 15th. R. E. Fisher, proprietor. Guests 
will be conveyed to and from the railroad at Saranac Lake for 
$1.00, distance about 8 miles. 

Ray Brook House, 5 miles west of the Elba House and 3 

miles from Saranac Lake, will provide for 40 guests. Open 

from June to November. Rates $3.00 per day; $10.00 to 

$17.00 per week. Duncan Cameron, proprietor. Post office 

address, Ray Brook. 

* * * * * * * 

The narrative portions of these pages left us tearing our- 
selves away from the proffered hospitalities of the John Brown 
farm, after which we sought entertainment at Lyons' Hotel. 
The following morning took us to Lake Placid, where we 
nearly succeeded in getting a cold bath, thanks to our belief 
that we knew perfectly well how to manage an Adirondack 
boat, after which, fortified with a dinner, we succeeded in re- 
moving Att. from the presence of a fascinating divinity in 
calico, and started for Saranac Lake. 

Saranac Lake of then and now differs somewhat- It did 
not impress me favorably at the time, and we went direct to 
Martin's. The place held no visible promise of its future then, 
but nature had made it the natural outlet to the great northern 
lake country, and now — in combination with its porous soil, 
the Chateaugay railway, Dr. Trudeau, and Milo B. Miller — 
has it taken a boom that promises to be of the most substantial 
and lasting kind. It is a pretty httle town, of seven to eight 
hundred native inhabitants, lying low in the valley ; busy and 
full of enterprise. Around it are protecting hills, and, farther 
back, mountains. Between the hills run valleys from north, 
east and south, uniting here so that it is approached by level 



Saranac Lake. 95 

roads, winding through the lowlands, from either side. It 
shows a picturesque blending of the primitive forms of old 
times with the swell structures of prosperous later days, since 
it went forth that here was the health centre of the wilderness. 
It has two churches — Methodist and Episcopal — a graded 
school, water supply for street and dwellings, stores and hotels, 
and telegraphic and telephonic communication with the sum- 
mer hotels of the lake region and the outer world. 

The Adirondack Sanitarium is a practical application of 
the good to be had here. It is situated a mile below the river, 
on a bluff, commanding a grand mountain view toward the 
north and east, and well protected from the prevailing western 
wind. Dr. Alfred L. Loomis, of New York, is examining phy- 
sician. The institution is under the immediate supervision of 
Dr. E. L. Trudeau, assisted by Dr. C. T. Wicker. Appli- 
cants must be examined either by Dr. Loomis, in New York, 
or Dr. Trudeau, at Saranac Lake. It is not intended as an 
asylum for hopeless cases; but to put within reach of sufferers 
from incipient pulmonary complaints, whose means are limited, 
the advantages to be derived from the Adirondack climate, a 
simple, out-of-door life, and good hygienic surroundings, with 
suitable medical treatment. It consists of a handsome central 
building, containing dining-room, offices, etc., and outlying 
cottages, accommodating two to four patients each. The 
Sanitarium accommodates about fifty patients. A charge of 
$5.00 per week is made for each. This is below the actual 
cost pro rata, but the deficiency is made up by annual sub- 
scriptions. Dr. Trudeau's experience has made him a strong 
advocate of the systematic open-air treatment of consumptives, 
which is carried out at the institution in most cases, and a 
characteristic scene in mid-winter is that of a dozen or more 
patients swathed in wrappers of wool and fur, ranged, sardine- 
like, side by side on the piazza in comfortable steamer chairs, 
chatting or reading, or engaged in such light occupations as 
are possible with thickly gloved fingers, often remaining out 
in what may be called bad weather even, from nine o'clock in 
the morning until sun-set, excepting during the interval taken 



96 Saranac Lake. 

for dinner. Others drive, muffled in furs, or where strength 
permits — thickly clad and well protected from the cold — in- 
dulge in long tramps through the woods or over the hills on 
snow shoes.* 

"The Berkeley," with capacity for twenty guests and the 
" Adirondack " providing for as many more, are the village 
hotels with a local and commercial patronage. 

Martin's Hotel is on high ground, on the road to the lake. 
The proprietor, William F. Martin, was the founder of the 
famous old Saranac Lake House. He is an enthusiastic hun- 
ter himself, and obliging withal. Accommodations are here 
offered for fifty visitors. Rates $2.50 per day, $10 so $15 
per week, open May to December. 

Lower Saranac Lake is a little less than five miles long by 
one and a quarter wide. Its longest way is from Miller's 



-MAP OF — 

•LOWER-SARANAC-LAKf 
.j]t. 1540 n 

SCALE OF MILES 




in a south-westerly course to its inlet. Symmetrical as a 
whole, it is separated into several natural divisions by out- 
spreading peninsulas and chain-like groups of islands; 
there being of the latter (counting as such several huge rocks) 
one for every week of the year. 

*Saranac Lake in Winter. Illustrating invalid life and other scenes contain- 
ing 12 pages of pictures reproduced by the Photogelatine process, can be had at 
the book stores, or by addressing the publisher of this book, at Glens Falls, N. Y. 
Price 75 cents. 



Lower Saranac Lake. 



97 



Hotel Ampersand, at the extreme northerly end of the 
lake, was completed and opened November ist, 1888. In 
choosing a name for the new house, the above was deemed 
fitting and 
appropria t e 
from the vi- 
cinage of the 
shapely 
mountain 
that looms 
up in the 
s o u t h b e- 
y o n d the 
lake, at 
whose base 
nestles a 
pretty pond 
bearing the 
same name^ 
with its out- 
let in a little 
stream that 
finds its devi- 
ous w a y a t 
last into Ra- 
quette River. 
The hotel 
was built 
and opened 



_^':TV.¥'- 

HOTEL AMPERSAND FROM THE WEST. 

by the Saranac Lake Hotel Company. It is roomy, ramb- 
ling and artistic— full of unsuspected corners and pleas- 
ant surprises. It is picturesque in its commanding position 
on a slight eminence, surrounded by pines, hemlocks^ and 
balsams, with white birches gleaming here and there 
among their more sombre neighbors. Arrangements are 
being made for large additions soon. At present it con- 
tains one hundred bed-rooms, thirty-five of which have 
open fire-places. An elevator makes all floors almost equally 




(^^^^^^--Sti^: 




HOTEL AMPERSAND IN WINTER. 




SARANAC LAKE FROM HOTEL AMPERSAND. 



Lower Saranac Lake. 



99-A 



desirable. It is heated throughout by steam and lighted with 
gas. The main office is a large room with two large fire- 
places, opening on one side into the spacious dining room and 
on the other into a reception room, ladies' billiard room and 




HOTEL AMPERSAND, OFFICE. 



parlor. The piazzas are broad and extend along the entire 
front and on the east side of the house. Although the hotel 
was built with a special view to winter business, it is open the 
entire year, and the protecting trees that shield its winter 
guests from the too severe winds offer a greatful shade to its 
summer visitors. The telephone, telegraph and post office 
and general store are in the hotel. The accompanying cuts 
show glimpses of the house in summer and winter and a view 
of the lake from the piazza. Board $21.00 and upwards per 
week. Transient rates $4.00 per day. For special rates and 
particulars address the Saranac Lake Hotel Company, Amper- 
sand, N. Y. 

C. M. Eaton and his partner, W. G. Young, the managers, 
represent energy and enterprise and a knowledge of the 

tofC. 



The Adirondacks. 99-c 

minutia of hotel service that ensures good management and 
smooth working throughout. At the beginning, the Amper- 
sand took position as a popular favorite. With a generous 
freedom of management not often equalled it has continued 
so. It is a house about which little can be found to criticize. 

The Saranac Lake House is near the northern extremity 
of the Lower Saranac, one and a half miles from the depot. 
(Stage 50 cents). It is oftener spoken of as " Miller's " than 
by its proper name. Good taste is displayed in the general 
management, and it is justly reckoned among the desirable re- 
sorts of the north. It is Democratic in tendency, breezy and 
delightful with its ever changing patronage. Architecturally 
it is one of the most attractive of Adirondack hotels. Large 
fire-places have been built in many of the rooms, and the en- 
tire establishment furnished with necessary conveniences. The 
greater portion of the sleeping rooms are large, well lighted 
and ventilated, and arranged in suites of from two to six, com- 
municating. The piazza fronting the lake affords a pleasant, 
covered promenade, and the parlors look out on one of the 
loveliest of quiet Adirondack scenes. Across the bay, at the 
right, the shore rises abruptly to a considerable height. At the 
left, near by, is a dense grove of cedar, balsam and tamarack, 
with pleasant walks and arbors. Beyond is the broad lake, 
with its islands and distant mountains. The telegraph, tele- 
phone and a branch post office in the hotel. Parties can 
leave New York at 7:30 p. m., and arrive in time for dinner. 
Returning by morning train, arriving in New York at 7^p. m. 
This house has a capacity for 250 guests. Rates $3 to $4 per 
day, $14 to $28 per week, 

D. J. GiLLiGAN is proprietor of the Saranac Lake House, 
succeeding Milo B. Miller, who has so long and so success- 
fully conducted it. Mr. Giiligan was formerly proprietor of 
the Burleigh House and Fort Ticonderoga Hotel, where he 
proved an efficient and thoroughly competent hotel man, and 
under him the house must sustain the excellent reputation it 
has deservedly won under its late management. In the office, 
old friends will find the ever courteous and obliging clerk, 




THE ALGONQUIN'. 



Lower Saranac Lake. 99-E 

H. H. Tousley, late of the Alexander House, whom it is a 
pleasure to commend. Guides, boats and camp supplies and 
hunting and fishing requisites can be had here on application. 

The Algonquin (formerly Alexander House) has been pur- 
chased by and is now under the management of John Harding, 
a graduate of Paul Smith's famous hostlery, and for the past 
two years associate manager of the Hotel Ampersand. The 
house stands on high ground commanding a comprehensive view 
of the lake, its islands and the mountains beyond. This is com- 
paratively a new house, finely finished in natural woods, richly 
decorated, and furnished luxuriously. The sleeping rooms are 
large above the average ; the beds of the best. It has high 
ceilings and large windows. It has open fire-places, affording 
ventilation, and, on occasion, necessary heat. It has wide 
piazzas on three sides, giving 300 feet of promenade protected 
from rain and sun. The grounds are extensive, having three- 
fourths of a mile of lake front, with a beautiful sand beach, 
space for out-door amusements in way of tennis court, croquet, 
etc., and pleasant walks that penetrate the thick woods, afford- 
ing means of open or covered promenade as may seem pleas- 
ant. Stages connect with all trains ; fare 50 cents. Telegraph 
in the house. Modern conveniences are here including 
electric bells. A livery will be maintained by the proprietor 
and single or double carriages furnished at established prices* 
while boats, comfortably large and steady, or of the cranky 
Adirondack build, as preferred, can be had, with guides and 
all the requirements for hunting and fishing. A special feature 
of the Algonquin, much affected by believers in the efficacy of 
out-door air, in shape of commodious tents with carpeted floor 
and all the etceteras of a well furnished bed-room, will be pro- 
vided for those who prefer tent Hfe to the accommodations of 
the hotel. That the table will be first-class goes without ques- 
tion. Rates $3,00 to $4.00 per day, $15.00 to $25.00 per 
week. 

The outlet is about three miles southeast of the Algon- 
quin, where it enlarges to form Miller Pond, then con- 



lOO The Adirondacks. 

tracting swings gradually around and passes through the vil- 
lage of Saranac. 

This entrance to the lake region, always important, is be- 
coming better known, and must in time, by virtue of its posi- 
tion and environment, become one of the gateways on the 
main line of travel, the other being Blue Mountain Lake ; the 
two iorming the terminal stations in the grand round trip 
through the Saranac and Raquette waters, crossing the Upper 
Saranac at its outlet and leading into the wilder sections about 
Big Tupper Lake. 

The morning following our arrival at Martin's (now Mill- 
er's) we took passage in one of Bartlett's freight boats, which 
chanced to be going up with brick and other hotel suppHes. 
At the head of the lake, "in the shadow of a great rock," we 
entered the inlet and sailed up through the lily pads, between 
lines of tall dead trees, marking what was once the shores of 
the stream. Something over a mile above we came to the 
falls — but little more than rapids— where the water shoots 
down through the rocky channel, with a swish and a saucy 
curl or two at the bottom. Here we stepped ashore, and 
helped to pull the boat up through the cut, then got aboard 
and picked our way slowly up stream. 

We noticed that the boat displaced two inches of water at 
stem and i8 at stern, and we labored with the captain to con- 
vince him of certain facts but he allowed that he knew how 
to load a boat, and we dragged over the sandy bottom into 
Round Lake and up to Bartlett's finally followed by a series 
of swells such as follow in the wake of a deep sea propeller. 

Round Lake is about two and one-half miles in diameter, 
and, as its name implies, nearly round in shape. It contains 
several very pretty rocky islands. The shores are bold, and 
at that time were brilliant in their autumn dress. Passing 
across, we went out on the west side between two great rocks, 
and up a slow stream half a mile, to Bartlett's. 



Upper Saranac Lake. ioi 

The Saranac Club House (formerly Bartlett's) is at the 
foot of a short carry between Round Lake and the Upper 
Saranac. The portage is by cart, costing 50 cents for boat 
and baggage. The traffic to this point is generally by water, 
although possible to reach the house by a road through the 
woods. 

This property has lately been purchased by a company, in- 
corporated as the "Saranac Club" with a charter member- 
ship of 20. The stated objects of the club are, primarily, the 
health, happiness and pleasure of its members, but while the 
accommodations of the house will be largely required for the 
c]ub it will be kept open as a hotel and the public accommo- 
dated to such an extent as may be without inconvenience to 

club members. 

********* 

Gentle reader, if your heart does not bound in sympathy 
with an angler's tale skip this ; it is only a fishy experience. 
While at Bartlett's in '63, we decided to take a trip through 
the upper lake and return (as the course we had marked out 
simply led across the south end), and I thought it would do 
no harm to put out a trolling line — we might strike something. 
So, after dinner, I applied to the alleged clerk for the neces- 
sary articles. He did not appear particularly anxious to 
spring around and wait on people. He was devoted to his 
duties behind a little semi-circular desk, which fenced in one 
corner of the room, and afforded a safe retreat for himself and 
sundry dark-looking bottles. He appeared tired, but said he 
would try to rig me up. In the course of half an hour I 
found him sitting contentedly on the porch, where he had 
stopped to rest, and was soothed with the information that he 
didn't believe there was any use trying to trolL I thought so 
myself, but nevertheless, so long as I had set out with that in- 
tention I proposed to persevere, so he started again. After 
another lapse of valuable time, I found him in the guide-house 
sitting serenely on a dry-goods box, apparently going to sleep. 
At last, however, with the aid of our guide, I secured the 
necessary articles and started. We went and returned, and I 



102 The Adirondacks. 

didn't get a bite. I was surprised, for I fished faithfully. Per- 
haps the velocity of our boat had something to do with our ill 
luck, as the "gang" to which a shiner was attached would 
spring out of the water occasionally, and skitter along the sur- 
face like any thing but a fish, but I thought they might over- 
look that little matter. The spirit of Isaac Walton moved 
within me, and I felt the excitement of a veteran angler at the 
very smell of fish. I had admired Murray for his wonderful 
skill in casting flies and things; devoured the contents of 
"I go-a-fishing" with avidity, and felt able to play any fish 
and throw any kind of fly in existence In imagination, with 
the great piscatorial lights of the age, I had felt my heart thrill 
at sight of a polywog, and often closed my eyes in an ecstacy 
of bliss, as I thought of the terrific ravings of a half- ounce 
sucker when fairly fast. With such feelings surging through 
my breast, we went in to supper. Ah ! can it be possible ? 
Yes, y^s, it is ! it is 1 ! A school of fish-balls within easy reach ! 
I will catch one. But what true fisherman can act the part of 
a butcher? True greatness in that line consists not in the 
amount bagged, but in the m.anner of doing it. My heart 
thrilled with the excitement which the angler feels when the 
gently undulating motion of the atmosphere tells him that his 
game is nigh. I prepared for a cast. A moment's hesitation 
occurred, in which the momentous question presented itself 
whether I had better take my " scarlet dragoon " or " blue- 
tailed-ibies." I tried both, but not a ripple stirred the quiet 
depths. Then I tried a spoon. Now I contend that it re- 
quires a great deal of skill to cast a spoon properly for a fish- 
ball, especially at this season of the year. Carefully I played 
it around over the bread; dragged it slowly across the pota- 
toes, skittered it lightly over the butter, and let it drop where 
I knew the wary creatures were lying in wait. Slowly it set- 
tled down, lightly as the dew into the heart of a blushing rose. 
A gentle ripple stirred the surface. I felt intuitively that the 
trying moment had come. A thrill shot up my arm, and 
throughout my body, to the very pit of my stomach, as the 



Exciting Sport. 103 

beautiful creature curled upward and struck — struck hard. 
Then began the struggle for life on the one side against 
science on the other — mind against matter. It is an un- 
doubted fact that an intellectual man, with a good spoon, is 
more than a match for any fish-ball in existance. Carefully I 
played him, for he was a gamey fish-ball. The surrounding 
gravy was lashed into fury, and foamed white as the driven 
snow, but the cruel spoon held him, and, with a sullen shak- 
ing, he rested on the bottom — preparing for another run. 
Now he darts away like a flash of light, and is brought up by 
my gradually, though firmly-compressing arm ; then he turned? 
and clove his native element as the thunder-bolt might cleave 
a -summer squash. But the spoon brought him up once more, 
a^d he turned directly toward me. It was a critical moment — 
a moment of terrible suspense. 

" Give him the butt !" screamed the Professor, dodging be- 
hind the teapot; "give him the butt !-r-they always do." 

" Stand firm, Professor !" I cried, wrought up to the high- 
est pitch of excitement as the enraged fish-ball sprang into the 
air, and made directly for me with my mouth wide open : 
" stand firm, and the victory is ours." 

I gave him the butt as he came, and the delicate rod bent 
as a reed shaken in the wind. Oh ! the terrific fire that blazed 
from the eye of that fish-ball will haunt me till my dying day. 
Rage, agony, despair, all blended in one, as, shaking the spark- 
ling drops of gravy from his gleaming sides, he sprang entirely 
over us — plunged downward on the other side. Again and 
again he renewed the attack. But I desist. Suffice it to say 
that, in less than an exciting hour and fifty-nine minutes sport, 
I succeeded in safely landing that heroic creature and laid 
him — a conquered fish-ball — at my feet. Science had again 
triumphed. 

Mr. Murray says, " the highest bodily beautitude 1 ever ex- 
pect to reach, is to sit in a boat with John at the paddle, and 
match again a Conroy rod against a three-pound trout." As 
for me^ give me my trusty spoon — or even a sharp stick. I 



I04 The Adirondacks. 

care not who sits at the paddle, and let me once more feel the 
deathless joy of a single-handed encounter with an untamed 
fish-ball, and I '11 murmur not, though a yawning legislature 
opens and sucks me in forever. Pardon this ebullition ; I can 
never keep cool when excited. And right here, let me lift my 
voice against the horrible practice of some coarse natures, 
whose soul never swept upward to a spiritual conception of 
flies ; and who, with no excuse, save perhaps that of hunger, 
can, with a common hook and line, and filthy worms for bait, 
snatch a kingly trout bald-headed, and lay him gasping in un- 
comfortable terror on the ground. I cannot find words of 
condemnation strong enough to express my horror of this 
barbarous practice, which is extremely vulgar, contributes 
nothing to science, and is, in all probability, excessively annoy- 
ing to the fish. 

On the contrary, the scientific alurement of a denizen of 
the aqueous fluid to the one more volatile is an achievement 
worthy of a great intellect. The skillful playing prepares the 
noble creature for its final transition, which, if not actually 
attended with pleasurable -sensations to the subject in question, 
is owing to its lack of appreciation of the important part it is 
playing in the march of intellect. It is also more christian- 
like and refined than bull-baiting, because less dangerous ; and 
we cannot wonder that great minds — divines even — are some- 
times translated by its wonderful fascinations. 

Upper Saranac Lake rests at 1,577 feet above tide. It is 
eight miles long, measuring north and south ; about two miles 
wide at its broadest places ; and is divided into unequal lobes 
by points projecting from its east and west shores. It dis- 
charges toward the east from its south end, making a rapid 
descent of about 35 feet in 100 rods, to Bartlett's. It contains 
a number of islands ; those at the south being rounded or 
level ; those at the north, bold and rocky. The shores partake 
of the nature of the islands ; are thickly wooded, and rise into 
hills, which can hardly lay claim to the title of mountains, but 
which are picturesque and attractive. In the distance, at the 



Upper Saranac Lake. 



105 
Whiteface ; 



h/^^^aTS^^; 



north, is St. Regis Mountains ; away at the east, 
toward the south-west, Ampersand and Seward. 

McCoy's Rustic Lodge, is at the south end of the Upper 
Saranac, about three miles from Bartlett's. It stands well up 

above the water on the divide 
between the Saranac, and Ra- 
quette Lake waters which latter 
flows from this point toward the 
south. From this point the 
famous Indian Carry extends 
south one mile to Stony-creek 
.Ponds, affording a very pleasant 
walk, and is continued around 
them at the west, two miles 
farther, ending at the Raquette 
River. The house is picturesque, 
half log, half frame, and has 
been added to as the necessity 
for greater accommodations 
were felt, and with several de- 
tached cottages of one room 
each in a line along the ridge 
facing the lake, has capacity 
for about 60 guests. It is high^ 
dry and breezy, wholesome of 
itself and in its surroundings. It 
commands a fine view of the lake. 
Mails are brought here and de- 
part daily by a boat leaving Saranac Lake every morning ex- 
cept Sunday, during the season. Telegraph at Wawbeek, 20 
minutes distant. The Chateaugay railroad brings this point 
within 20 hours of New York city. The proprietor, E. R. 
McCoy, is energetic and obliging. The house is open from 
May I St to November. Rates $2.50 per day; $10.00 to 
$14.00 per week. 




.-owe MKi/^ 



M/AWATHX «0««r 



MAP OF UPPER SARANAC LAKE. 

(From Survey by Dr. S. B. Ward.) 



io6 The Adirondacks. 

Saranac Inn is at the head of the lake about 15 miles 
from Saranac depot, to which stages run, connecting with all 
trains. Fare $1.50. A new road, to be opened up soon, will 
reduce the distance to a Httle more than 10 miles. By water 
from Saranac Inn to Miller's is 20 miles; to Paul Smith's loj 
miles. At present the road runs through a picturesque sec- 
tion of the country, finally entering the woods, which in places 
exist in their primeval condition. All the way — except in ex- 
tremely bad weather — the road is in good condition and the 
ride a delightful one. The house stands at a point extending 
out into the lake and commands a broad expanse of water and 
distant mountains equalled nowhere in the Adirondacks, ex- 
cept from the high land between Mirror Lake and Lake Placid. 
The land is dry and porous, the peninsula on which the house 
stands level, and the woods which forms a pleasant feature in 
its surroundings, are grove-like, resembling a cultivated park 
in their shadowy depths. Under its present management the 
Inn has gained the highest praise. The table is exceptionally 
nice. This house has a capacity for 125 guests. Board $3.50 
per day; $17.50 to $30.00 per week, according to rooms. 
The season is from May ist to October 15th. A loop of the 
telegraph extends to this point with office in the hotel. Post- 
office address " Saranac Inn." D. W. Riddle, Manager. 

This place is specially attractive to the fisherman, because 
of the multitude of small ponds and streams adjacent, there 
being within a circuit of three miles over thirty that are recog- 
nized as among the best trout yielding waters of the Adiron- 
dacks. For obvious reasons also, the hunter with limited time, 
will find this available ground. A good road penetrates the 
forests ; an excellent house renders the isolated position com- 
fortable. It is well out in that wilderness which, north, west 
and south, is almost unbroken and impenetrable save over the 
watery highways, where the streams and ponds cover the tract 
like crystal beads on a net-work of silver. Into this labyrinth 
comes the deer who delight in the still water and the tender 
food growing at its edge. With them it is a favorite feeding 



Upper Saranac Lake. 



107 



ground and they find none better even in the far west. All 

these attractions tend to make the Saranac Inn an unusually 

desirable resort. 

This is a favorite spot with ex-President and Mrs. Cleveland, 

and headquarters during their flying trips to the woods. Dr. 

S. B. Ward, of Albany, 
is, also, a regular visitor 
here ; and a map of the 
lake, personally s u r - 
veyed^ testifios to the 
practical nature of his 
amusements. To him 
the publisher is indebted 
for a copy of the work, 
now incorporated in the 
large map of the wilder- 
ness and shown in these 
pages. A pretty Uttle 

15 SQUARE MILES BELONGING TO 1 1 -ii 1 1 

RANAc IN ^COMPANY. church ou thc hill back 

of the hotel, erected in 1885, is open for service during the 
summer. A number of very attractive private camps are on 
the bay west of the house, and at various points south. 

Wawbeek Lodge is the#name of the new hotel at the Old 
Sweeney Carry on the west shore opposite the outlet of the 
Upper Saranac ; " Wawbeek " is Indian for rock and was 
suggested by a huge bowlder lying on the hill side. Hiawatha 
"Sees the masses of the Wawbeek lying still in every valley " 
but the traveler who sees this " Wawbeek " has a very pleas- 
ant thing to look upon. It commands an extensive view of 
the lake, a long stretch of water toward the north and another 
down into the deep arm which forms the outlet towards the 
east. It is artistic in design and finish, the public apartments 
spacious and the sleeping rooms large with plenty of windows. 
Pure water is there, brought into the house from a distant 
spring, and perfect ventilation and drainage assured. Fur- 




MAP SHOWING THE 

THE SARANAC 



'io8' The Adirondacks. 

nished tents will be grouped around the house for the accom- 
modation of those who during the warm season may prefer 
them to house room. Wawbeek Lodge is reached from Sara- 
nac Lake Station through the Lower Lake and stream by row 
boat, or by way of the Northern Adirondack Railroad to Tup- 
per Lake Station, thence by stage over the new road now be- 
ing built through the woods 9 miles to this point. Accommo- 
dations will be provided for one hundred guests. Board per 
day $3.50, per week, $17.50 and upwards. Open from July 
to November. T. Edward Krumholz, manager. Mr. Krum- 
holz is affable and obliging. He was for some time connected 
with the Saranac Inn where he made many friends. He 
will no doubt make this a success. " Wawbeek " is the P. O. 
address. A telegraph station is at the house. 

Sweeney Carry extends from Wawbeek west three miles 
to the Raquette River. For transportation of boat and lug- 
gage across, the price is $1.50. Passengers can ride over 
on a buckboard for 75 cents. 

Tromblee's is on the Raquette River, at the west end of 
Sweeney Carry. Buckboards can be had here by east coming 
passengers for the three mile trip over, and carrying wagons 
for the boats and luggage. The river above this point is de- 
lightfully picturesque, marks of the desolation caused by the 
flooded flats not being so apparent here as further down. Troll- 
ing for pickerel is the popular sport and yields most satisfac- 
tory results. The house is small, affording accommodations 
for only six or eight people, but it gives an exceedingly good 
dinner. Board $10.00 per week ; $2.00 per day. Mail 
d lily through the season. Open from May ist to November. 
Oliver Tromblee, proprietor. Post office address, Wawbeek, 
N. Y. It is about 8 miles from Tromblee's Landing by the 
new road to Tupper Lake Station. By river to the foot 
of Tupper Lake^the distance is about 1 1 miles. 

The Lower Raquette near the foot of Tupper Lake is a 
perpetual protest against the outrages perpetrated in the name 
of utility, the result of a dam built at Raquette Pond, that for- 
sooth, a saw-mill may be fed, when retributive nature, in pur- 



The Lower Raquette. 109-A 

suance of a well-recognized law because of stripped mountain 
side and barren upland, fails to send its old-time supply of rain. 
In the spring and early summer, the water sets back away up 
to Raquette Falls and into Stony Creek Ponds, but later it is 
allowed to drain low, exposing hideous, slime-covered flats 
and malaria-breeding pits and the skeletons of drowned trees 
standing and lying prone all along its course. These drowned 
lands are indicated on the map by parallel lines. See page 
116. 

Raquette Pond, terminus of the Northern Adirondack 
Railroad, called Tupper Lake Station, is two miles below the 
point where Tupper Lake hangs like a pocket on the south side 
of the river. 

Downey's Landing, is 8 miles further. The stream is navi- 
gable except for short carries around falls and rapids. The 
Pond View House (P. O. Gale) is ij miles west, on Cata- 
mount Pond, E. P. Gale, proprietor. Board here costs a dol- 
lar a day. From this point a stage runs tri-weekly to South 
Colton and daily from that point to Potsdam. 

The Windfall House is 3 miles north of Childwold, on 
the track of the tornado of 1845. J- J- Seavy, proprietor. 

The Lower Raquette can be reached via. Potsdam. 
There are small houses at intervals along the road and river, 
where entertainment can be had at 
from $1.00 to $1.50 per day. The For- 
est House is at Stark's Falls, 22 miles 
from Potsdam. The Jordon House is 
6 miles farther, opposite the mouth of 
the Jordan River. The " Kildare 
Club," of New York, composed of 
members of the Vanderbilt family and 
friends, has a hunting lodg*e near Jor- 
dan lake and a park of several thousand acres lying along the 
river. Kildare Station, on the N. A. Railroad, and a new 
road thence to Jordan lake is for the special benefit of the 
club. 




Childwold Park. 



109-C 



Childwold, ^6 miles from Potsdam, has an elevation of 
about 1,200 feet above tide and is in a belt of good agricul- 
tural land on which a colony of farmers are thriving. 

Lake Massawepie is the fountain head of Grass liver — 
one of the best trout streams in northern New York — and a 
noted resort for deer. Mr. Addison Child, to whom this sec- 
tion owes much of its prosperity, and Mr. Henry G. Dorr, of 
Boston, together own the whole southern portion of the town- 
ship, and have preserved under the state law, 3,000 acres here, 
embracing Lake Massawepie and six contributary sheets of 
water that encircle it, as a game and pleasure park. 

Childwold Park House is on the east shore of Massa- 
wepie Lake. This place with the 
opening of the Northern Adiron- 
dock Railroad to Tupper Lake has 
been made easily accessible. It 
has natural attractions of broken 
and picturesque wilderness sur- 
roundings, and a broad, beautiful 
lake with numerous small ponds ad- 
jacent. The house stands on high 
ground rising considerably above 
the water, with surrounding piazzas 
and a belvedere 78 feet above the 
Lake. Boats, and hunting and fishing suppUes, 
tained here with competent men for camp or 
reached by stage from Childwold Station on 
Adirondack railroad, 7 miles distant. Fare 
for board $2 to $3 per day 




can be ob- 
trail. It is 
the Northern 
$1.00. Price 
$10 to $15 per week, accord- 



ing to room and length of stay. Wm. F. Ingold, late man- 
ager of the Elm wood House, Franconia, N. H., and of 
" The Magnoha," Florida, manager. 

Convenient railroad service will be maintained from New 
York city to Childwold Station. Wagner sleeping cars leave 
Grand Central Station daily except Saturday at 7:30 p. m,, 
run through without change. A telegraph line in process and 
of construction will be for service during the season. 



The Adirondacks. 109-E 

TUPPER Lake Station is on Raquette Pond two miles be- 
low the foot of Tapper Lake. During the season a steamboat 
will run from this point through to Tupper Lake House, 
touching at other hotels on the way. 

TuPPER Lake is 1,554 feet above tide. It is nearly seven 
miles long by three broad. It has 25 to 30 islands, some 
level and covered with thrifty trees, some barren and rocky, 
rising steeply from the water. Long, or County, Island is the 
largest, being nearly a mile in length. A precipice on its 
west side is known as the Devil's Pulpit, although why or 
what, the devil he could want of one here is a mystery. The 
surrounding country is wild but not grand with mountain 
heights. Mount Morris, at the southeast, is the most import- 
ant elevation of the section. Bog River comes picturesquely 
down over the face of the rough rocks at the head of the lake 
where a ruined saw mill marks a past " effort." 

Mount Morris House is on the east side of the lake near 
the outlet. John F. Hatch, lessee. 

Redside Camp is on the high bluff a half mile farther down 
the lake. Martin Moody, proprietor. Twelve to fifteen 
guests can here be taken care of in a substantial manner. 
Rates, $1.50 per day, $10.00 to $12.00 per week. Post office 
is " Moody." Fare by boat to Tupper Lake Station $1.00. 

TuppER Lake House is on the west shore of the lake near 
its south end. Il is about 35 miles, as the way goes, 
from Saranac Lake (station), and can be reached from 
that direction during the summer by rowboat, making 
a pleasant day's journey. The opening up of this section 
by the Northern Adirondack railroad, penetrating to the 
wildest portion of the wilderness, comes as a surprise to 
people {generally and the excellent train service maintained 
makes it possible to leave New York in the evening at 7:30 
and reach the Tupper Lake House in time for dinner the 
next day. Fare from New York to Tupper Lake, $12.40; 
round trip, $22.25. ^^ is a source of considerable 
surprise to visitors who had thought to bury them- 
selves in this far-away corner of the wilderness, to find a 



no The Adirondacks. 

daily mail maintained, the news of the world in their familiar 
evening paper of the day before laid by their plate at tea time, 
and all the necessaries with many of the perishable dainties 
from the centres of civilization following them and contribut- 
ing to their enjoyment of the woodsy things which nature (and 
" Lem" Corey, the proprietor,) so bountifully provides. And 
the half has not even then been told for this same "Lem" 
knows the woods as well as he knows his house, and its 
waters by intuition, and freely places his acquired knowledge 
at the service of his friends who ask it, be they guide or sports- 
man. 

This may be fairly called the geographical centre of the 
wild lake region. It is on the eastern edge of the Mud Lake 
country which is probably the least known and visited of any 
part of the wilderness. Dr. Alfred L. Loomis says it is "the 
best location for sport, and as healthful as any in the Adiron- 
dacks," and the Doctor is good authority on both questions. 

The house will accommodate about loo guests. It is pro- 
vided with open fire-places in parlor and principal bedrooms, 
is lighted with gas, has pure spring water brought through 
pump-logs from a mountain spring, and is furnished com- 
fortably and with the best of beds throughout. Open from 
May I St. Board $3.00 per day; $14.00 to $21.00 per week. 
A. L. Corey is the proper name but a letter addressed to 
" Lem " Corey, Saranac Lake, cannot go wrong, for every 
one in the woods knows " Lem." 

A supply and provision store, connected with the house, is 
advertised to supply the best goods the New York market af- 
fords at New York retail prices, with cost of freight only 
added. 

The " Lakeside Club," of New York, who own the property, 
come here annually and occupy their rooms in an adjacent 
building, eating at the hotel table like other guests. 

Little Tupper Lake is an easy half day's journey at the 
south, the most tedious part of this way being the two-mile 
carry from Bog River into Round Pond, where the thrifty 
manager will charge you $2.00 for boat and luggage. 



Stony Creek. hi 

The Hiawatha House is at the south end of Indian 
Carry, delightfully located among the trees on the north side 
of the first of the Stony Creek Ponds. Here it is wild on 
every side and deer come to feed about the borders of the 
lakelet, and when followed by dogs often take to its waters to 
escape their pursuers. It is popular as a fishing centre and is 
a desirable location for sport generally. This fact has been 
understood in the past and sportsmen from other localities 
have often visited the place. Tlie house, with its attractive 
surroundings, promises hereafter to meet the requirements of 
the section. It us now under entire new ownership and man- 
agement, renovated and newly furnished and it is guaranteed 
by the proprietor, Capt. J. H. Pierce, that it shall be kept in 
first-class shape hereafter and every effort made to please the 
sporting public. With daily mails, game and fish close by the 
door, historic and picturesque surroundings and an orderly 
and pleasant service, it is sure to gain friends and patronage. 
Chas. Wardner, wiih a reputation for experience that promises 
well, is the manager. The house will provide for about 30 
guests. Post-office address, Saranac Lake. Conveyance 
across the Indian Carry from this point costs 75 cents for 
boat and luggage. 

Stony Creek Ponds are three in number. The first and 
third are small ; the middle one about a mile the longest way. 
A fancied resemblance to a familiar article has led to their 
being occasionally called " Spectacle " Ponds. 

Stony Creek, applied to the outlet of the ponds, is a 
misnomer. It is about three miles long, slow, sluggish, and 
winding. Its marshy shores are lined with tall grass, and the 
sprawling, ragged, swamp-maples, which seem to flourish best 
in a watery soil. From its mouth, down the Raquette, to Big 
Tupper Lake, is 20 miles; to Raquette Falls, seven. Ra- 
quette Falls is 12 to 15 feet in height, with one mile of rapid 
water above. 

Raquette Falls Hotel of to-day is a much more preten- 
tious house than the one of old in the days of '' Mother John- 
son." It will provide for 30 guests, and affords a general stop- 



112 The Adirondacks. 

ping place for those who would indulge in the excellent hunt- 
ing and fishing of this section. It usually divides the long 
stretch between the Saranacs and Long Lake with a substantial 
dinner (75 cents), or a welcome night's rest to the round trip- 
per. Now instead of the old stone-boat drawn by oxen, buck- 
boards on which the voyager can ride comfortably under the 
shadow of his inverted boat, cross the intervening ij miles to 
the navigable waters above. Each passenger is charged 50 
cents, and each boat with its ^baggage, $1.50. George W. Wal- 
ton, proprietor. Address at Saranac Lake. 

Resuming once more if you please, the thread of our oft- 
broken narrative, we will proceed on our journey southward. 
When we followed the ox-sled over the carry in 1873, a steam- 
boat whistle had never been heard in this region ;• since then 
they have signalled each other across the cany, and a regular 




LP THE KAQUETTE. 

line is a possibility of the near future. The river is wonderful 
in its solemn beauty. The water in the shallows is amber, at 
a greater depth red, then a rich brown. Here it appears almost 
like ink in its blackness. Sluggish in motion, it fills its bed and 
seems fairly to round up in the centre. Great, shaggy, twisted 
cedars line its banks, their branches reaching out toward the 
light and downward toward the water, the sides away from 
the river limbless and verdueless. So still it runs that it appears 
more like a river of black glass than water. It has undermined 
the trees until they have fallen over and stand at every con- 
ceivable angle, and, while yielding, they have curled upward 
with the even sweep of a scimeter, while the smaller limbs, 
seemingly alarmed at their too near approach to the water, 
grow back upon themselves and hang in great hooks and solid 
festoons from their leaning supports, the whole mirrored in the 



The Adirondacks, 113 

glassy surface where we seem to float midway between the 
heavens above and the heavens below. 

About five miles above Raquette Falls, Cold River, coming 
down from Mount Seward on the east, supplies by considerable, 
the largest volume of the two streams which here meet. Above 
this we pick our way carefully. We have left the cedars, passed 
through the maples, now stripped of their foliage, and come 
out on a natural meadow, where the coarse hay is cut and 
piled up on platforms, there to stay until the ice shall render 
it accessible. Over the shallow outlet we go, through the tall 
grass, where mounds of sticks and reeds show the presence 
of a colony of muskrats, out into Long Lake, past the Island 
House, where a jolly party of spiritual fellows are having 
a loud time, and well on into the night, rap for admission at the 
door of the Long Lake Hotel. 

Long Lake is nearly 14 miles in length and about i mile 
in width at the widest part, which is near its outlet. It runs in 
a northeasterly direction, receives the waters of the Raquette 
River at its head and gives them up to the Raquette River at 
its foot, which, flowing northward, and passing within about 2 
miles of Upper Saranac Lake, turns toward the west, touching 
the foot of Tupper Lake, thence northwesterly past Potsdam to 
the St. Lawrence. 

Long Lake contains several islands ; one, nearly midway in 
its length, is called Round Island, and resembles Dome Island 
of Lake George. 

The Island House, near the outlet, affords entertainment 
to such as may at any time from choice or necessity be at this 
end of the lake. 

Owl's Head Mountain, near the head of the lake, on the 
west, is marked on the map as being 2,8215 feet above tide ; but 
as Long Lake is 1,614 above tide, this isn't much of a mountain 
after all. To the west the country is comparatively level ; on 
the east is Mount Kempshall ; on the north is seen the blue 
serrated summit of Mount Seward, 4,384 feet above tide. 

A number of private camps are scattered along the lake, 
notably those of Senator Piatt and of Rev. Dr. Duryea, near the 
north end. Toward the south end some considerable attempts 
have been made at cultivation. The land, however, while apparent- 



fi4 The Adirondacks. 

ly promising well, is cold and poorly adapted to farming pur- 
poses. 

The Lake House appears first on the left as we approach 
from the north. It is one of those quiet lakeside resorts that 
supplies the sportsman with all the necessaries of life, and is 
the gathering-place of the hunter, the fisherman, and of the 
sturdy guide. The house is three stories high, with a double 
piazza, facing the lake. It has an advertised capacity for 60 
guests. Rates, $2.00 per day, $10.00 to $12.00 per week. 
The house is under the management of Mrs. C. H. Kellogg 
who for a number of years has very exceptably filled the 
position as hostess at this place. Stage runs daily to Blue 
Mountain Lake to North Creek to connect with the evening 
train south. Fare to railroad, $4.00. 

In front of the house is a sandy beach, that extends down 
into the water, at the north, the long stretch of picturesque 
lake, while just south is a pretty Httle bay, protected on all 
sides, where the children can boat and fish to their heart's 
content. The road from the east crosses the lake here, over a 
long, floating bridge, which has a raised section to admit of 
the passage of small boats underneath. 

The Sagamore, which stood on the high bluff south of the 
Lake House caught fire November 30th, 1889, and was totally 
destroyed. It is expected it will be rebuilt and ready for occu- 
pancy in 1 89 1. 

Long Lake (village) is on the east side of the lake a half 
mile away, and three and a half miles from the south end. 
Long Lake lumbers some, farms some, trades a little, hunts 
and guides extensively, and makes sporting boats of recog- 
nized build and superior quality. From its somewhat isolated 
position and its lack of proper transportation facilities and 
accommodations in the past, Long Lake has been neglected 
by the sportsman. 

The Long Lake Hotel, Helms & Smith, proprietors, is 
situated at the village. This house is open the year round 
and provides for man and beast at a moderate price. Mails 



Long Lake. 115 

arrive and depart daily. Stage (Concord wagon, Theron 
Smith, proprietor) runs to Blue Mountain Lake during the 
season, leaving in the morning and returning in the afternoon. 
Travelers may leave New York on the 7:30 Adirondack 
sleeper, and reach Long Lake the next day at about 6 p. m. 
The distance to Blue Mountain Lake, by stage road, is nine 
miles. Fare, $1.50. 

A number of gentlemen have secured for a Preserve 4,000 
acres of land lying on both shores of the lake some distance 
north of Round Island and offer through their agent, camp and 
villa sights of lo-acre lots each, including the game and forest 
privilege of the entire tract, on a three or five years lease 
with the privilege of purchasing at from $250 to $500 
any time during its continuance. AppHcation for purchase 
or lease may be made to Hazard Stevens, Esq., 85 Deavon- 
shire Street, Boston, Mass, or to M. R. Sutton, Agent, Long 
Lake, N. Y. 

The Grove House is about two miles south of the float- 
ing bridge in a grove of tall pines on the abrupt eastern bank 
of the lake, seven miles from Raquette and nine miles from 
Blue Mountain lake, capacity of house, 50, rates, $2.50 per 
day, $10.00 to $14.00 per week, David Helms, proprietor. 
Pleasant features of the place are its open camps and cottages 
with open fire places. Special rates are offered to parties re- 
maining any considerable time. Mr. Helms is a noted guide 
and hunter and his house is a favorite resort for hunters and 
fishermen, who know that his experience and advice may be 
relied upon. He knows where the trout, the bass and the 
pickerel are to be found in their season ; where the duck 
swims, and the partridge hides, and the deer runs, and his 
knowledge is freely placed at the service of his visitors. 

The distance from the Grove House to Blue Mountain 
lake, through Forked and Raquette lakes, by boat, is 
about 33 miles. For the last-named route a guide will be re- 
quired as far as Raquette Lake, where steamers are taken for 
Blue Mountain Lake. 




CHAPTER VIII. 
The Schoolmaster 



E SENT our Saranac guide back, ana in- 
quired for one who understood the Ra- 
quette Lake region. 

"I know the man you wanC* said oar 
host, in a way as though he felt himself re- 
sponsible for our future happiness; "Chai 
ley Blanchard knows all about it, just came 
from that region day before yesterday. I'll 
send for him." 

He did so, and soon a little fellow in a 
Garabaldian shirt stood before us. Think- 
ing of the work a guide is expected to do, 
it seemed as though this one was meant for ajqfke or an orna- 
mental head that we would have to carry over the rough 
places. Kellogg must have noticed the look of surprise or 
our faces, for, taking me aside, he said : 

" Oh, he's all right ; knows the country better'n I do my 
house, and will take you right every time." 

" Carry a boat too ? " I asked, incredulously fjazing at the 
alight figure. 

" Yes, sir I carried a boat, oars and all, over the same route 
a day or two ago. Then he can learn you something — tell 
you all you want to know. There's no need of his guiding at 
all, only he likes it. I tell you what, sir, he's qualified for bet- 
ter things. He's— a — school— master ! ! ! " 

Of course we were overwhelmed, and engaged the school- 
master at once, finding him a willing worker, a pleasant 
companion and an exceptionally good guide — thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the region through which we were traveling. 

Four miles from Kellogg's we came to the rapids. Here the 
professor and myself took the loose articles, and the school- 




ii8 The Adirondacks. 

master started off with the boat over his head, looking like a 
huge, inverted, pickle-dish on a pair of legs. 

Reader, did you ever assist over one of these portages in 
the forests, where the path never dries, and 
the decayed leaves and vegetable mould 
i makes a bottom of black muck, with rocks 
•and roots projecting above the surface; which 
■same are stepping-places for the skillful, but 
;fearful traps for the unwary? 

The guide takes the boat, and you are ex- 
pected to carry the lighter articles. You ad- 
mire him as he starts off lightly along the slippery way. Your 
soul swells with conscious freedom, and you snuff in inspi- 
ration and black flies by the mouthful. You gather up the 
oars, paddle, guns, fishrods, etc., and step out determined to 
show that you, too, are a natural woodsman. How exhilar- 
ating the action ! You spring from rock to rock, watching 
your feet that they may not get the start of you; for the soHd 
bottom may be anywhere from two inches to two feet below 
the surface. Soon you are busy dodging the bushes, that 
scratch your hands and slap your face without the slightest 
provocation; and, after a while, you observe that the oars 
and other things are getting heavy, and are on a tender place. 
You change, and make it worse. Then you find they have 
got into a disagreeable habit of spreading out at various 
angles — of going on one side of a tree when you had de- 
signed to pass on the other; and you back up for another 
start. You wrench your back and get a crick in the neck in 
the struggle. The guide is disappearing through the trees in 
the distance. Surprise, perspiration, determination, and cob- 
webs, appear on your face ; and the things on your shoulder 
hurt more, and sprawl about worse than ever. You are con- 
scious of an expression like anything but a master of the situ- 
ation; and your load looks, for all the world, like a fully-ex- 
tended umbrella denuded of its covering. You try in vain to 
dodge the various branches that are making unprovoked 




The Carry. 119 

lunges at you. The vines trip you, the stones slip from be- 
neath your feet, and roots that look solid give way and let 
you down. You are getting careless of results, 
and take chances that do not always turn out 
well. You step on one end of a root, and the 
other end comes up and pitches a quart or so of 
mud in your face. You forget to select a safe 
place for the next step ; your foot glides gently 
down, and disappears in the inky depths; and, 
in resurrecting it, the other one goes under. 
The chances are that about this time you begin to talk to 
yourself; and the tenor of your remarks depends something on 
how you were brought up. 

Grimly you plow forward now ; for you are certain that the 
worst has come, and care nothing how many trees you over- 
turn in your course. Then a sapling on either side catches an 
oar, and they shut up on your aching neck like a pair of 
shears, a friendly limb Hfts your hat, and drops it in the mud 
right where you was going to step, and, to save your hat, you 
make some playful passes in various ways, one foot gets on 
top of the other; then they wander off in different directions, 
and you sit down. 

It is a delightful sensation to sit aown — .n the wild woods 
— after violent exercise — and rest. Gentle zephyrs steal re- 
freshingly across your brow, and black mud insinuatingly 
through the pores of your trousers, /.t such a moment as 
this, free from the thraldom of civilization, in the solemn still- 
ness of the mighty forests, with a soul attuned to its inspiring 
harmony, some well-remembered passage, learned in youth- 
tide, comes welling up from your joyous heart. Sometimes, 
however, Bible quotations get somewhat mixed, and a disin- 
terested beholder would be apt to misconstrue your devotional 
expressions. At such an hour as this, the most a man wants 
is undemonstrative sympathy. Such episodes, however, are 
the spice that season the dish of glorious things served up 
here among the mountains and lakes of the great wilderness. 



I20 The Adirondacks. 

A half-mile carry brought us to still water; then a short dis- 
tance of boating to Buttermilk Falls (which also lays claim to 
being Murray's "Phantom Falls") where the water dashes 
and foams down over the rocks, making a descent of about 
20 feet — and the name, though not very poetical, was prob- 
ably suggested by the churning it gets in reaching the bottom. 
"Murray talk about shooting these falls in his boat, in pur- 
suit of the phantom form, is a very probable story for a min- 
ister to tell," said the schoolmaster with a shrug. "Why, I 
drove a brood of ducks down over there once. The old one 
knew better than to go — she flew up stream; but they — a 
dozen of young ones — went over, and only three came out 
alive. He talk of doing it ! There isn't Baptist enough 
about him to do it — but there's one thing he can 'shoot;' 
that's the long bow." Alas for Mr. Murray's reputation for 
veracity! The beautiful creations of his fancy, the bright 
pictures conjured up by his fertile brain, are held as witnesses 
against him, simply because he, in his lavish generosity, has 
enriched the common occurrences of every-day life in the 
woods, with the precious incense of conceptive genius, and 
left a dazzled world to separate the real from the ideal. The 
guides took him literally as he said ; and, although then in the 
high tide of his popularity, had come to the conclusion that if 
his preaching was not a better guide to heaven than his book 
to the Adirondacks his congregation might have managed to 
worry through with a cheaper man. 

We put the boat into the deep, quiet water above the falls, 
and went upward a mile and a half; then a portage of the 
same distance brought us to Forked Lake. 

Forked Lake is a lovely sheet of water, about five miles 
in length, and appropriately named. The shore is compara- 
tively straight along on the south side ; but on the north it is 
an irregular line, which, as you approach the centre, opens 
up into a far-reaching bay — itself the main branch on which 
is strung a succession of deep bays, with intervening points ex- 
tending from east to west. "The Cedars," belonging to F. C 



Raquette Lake. 121 

Durant of New York, situated near the head of this bay, is 
one of the elegant private camps of the wilderness. 

Forked Lake House looks into this north bay from the 
south shore. This is included in the property recently ac- 
quired by the Hamilton Park Club, which takes in the north- 
ern half of township 35 and all of ^6, extending beyond Lit- 
tle Tupper Lake. Transient visitors can procure meals here, 
but no permanent guests will be taken except members of the 
club and their friends. It is intended that a handsome struc- 
ture shall in time take the place of the old house. David 
Helms, of the Grove House, is manager. For the Bottle 
Pond route to Tupper Lake Region see page 209. 

Raquette Lake is at the south. Its outlet is through the 
long arm, which extends east, nearly parallel with the south 
shore of Forked Lake, into which it empties. From the 
Forked Lake House the road crosses to the steamboat land- 
ing on Raquette Lake, about a half-mile distant. It is a 
great mass of bays, separated by far-reaching points, extending 
nearly east and west. Its greatest length is but about five 
miles, measured through islands and intervening headlands ; 
yet so irregular is its shape that the shore line, in its devious 
windings, is over 40 miles in extent. 

It is said that the first house built at Raquette Lake stood 
on Indian Point ; the next one at Wood's Point, where an 
effort was made at farming. A twenty years' struggle, however, 
ended in its abandonment ; and, when we passed by, in 1873, 
only one lone man — old Alva Dunning, living Robinson Cru- 
soe -fike on Osprey Island, — reigned monarch of the beautiful 
lake. Then the Sabbath stillness was broken only by an occa- 
sional party in camp or passing boat. There was no puffing 
steamer to carry us to our destination — only our gallant little 
pedagogue — who conducted us over the waters of the Ra- 
quette, up the tortuous windings of the Marion River, along 
through Utowana Lake, across Eagle Lake, in the gathering 
darkness ; and finally, up the uneven slope, to find weleome 
and rest in the " Eagle's Nest," once the wilderness home of 
Ned Buntline. 



CHAPTER IX. 
•♦The Eagle's Nest." 

Where the silvery gleam of the rushing stream 
Is so brightly seen on the rocks dark green. 
Where the white pink grows by the wild red rotm 
And the blue bird sings till the welkin rings. 

Where the red deer leaps and the panther creeps. 
And the eagles scream over cliff and stream. 
Where the lilies bow their heads of snow. 
And the hemlocks tall throw a shade o'er all. 

Where the rolling surf laves the emerald turl. 
Where the trout leaps high at the hovering fly. 
Where the sportive fawn crops the soft green lawn. 
And the crows' shrill cry bodes a tempest nigh— 
There is my home — my wildwood home. 



Ned Buntline,* author of the above sweet lines that 
seem to rise upward like the joyous song of a wild bird, 
bringing thoughts of wild violets and the fragrance of 
dewy forests in its train — this strange man, with the 
blending natures of the tiger and the lark — came here 
in 1856, and here wrote, and hunted, and filled the mind 
of the public with wild reports of his erratic doings 
to his heart's content. He made the " Eagle's Nest " his 
home for some time, married a wife and buried her here, 
and then he tired of the old place and drifted out into 
the world again. 



* " The Life and Adventures of Ned Buntline," by Will Wildwood, is now 
being published in serial form in WiUwood's Magazine. 



Ned Buntline." 



123 



Ned had earned his spurs in Florida and Mexico, and 
when the war cloud broke over tlie South, his restless, ven- 
turesome spirit called him to the field once more. Five 

wounds by sabre and bul- 
let, one of which has made 
him lame for life, testify to 
the service done for the 
country he served proudly 
and gladly, while with fine 
scorn he refused the prof- 
fered pension, and since, at 
intervals, as novelist, dram- 
atist, actor and temperance 
advocate has filled the pub- 
lic mind like — no one un- 
der the sun but only "Ned 
Buntline " the irrepressible. 
But the old eagle had 
flown, and other birds of 
prey occupied the nest when we came, guided by its wel- 
come light, through the October darkness to claim shelter 
for the night. It was then the only house of entertain- 
ment on the Eckford Chain, of which Eagle Lake is the 
middle link, and afforded a stopping place for sportsmen dur- 
ing summer and for lumbermen in winter. This lake is very 




" NED BUNTLINE.' 



• Edward Z. C. Judson ("Ned Buntline") was born at Stamford, N. Y., March 20^ 
1823. His adventurous career began in early childhood. He killed his first dee 
when eight years of age, ran off to sea at eleven, was promoted to midshipman when 
only thirteen, the same year fought seven duels with fellow-midshipmen who refused 
to mess with him on account of his supposed inferiority, and threatened to deplete 
the whole budding navy unless he was acknowledged as an equal ; the navy wilted. 
He served with credit in the Seminole war, in the Mexican war, and in the great Re- 
bellion. His first story, " The Captain's Pig, " was published in his fifteenth year. As 
a writer !of "Frontier Fiction" he was unexcelled. Buffalo Bill, Texas Jack, and 
Wild Bill were made famous by his stories of border life. His income as a story writer 
amounted to $20,000 annually. His literary productions would make more than two 
hundred large volumes. He was foremost in organizing the order of " United Ameri- 
cans" and the "Patriotic Order Sons of America." He died July 16, 1886, at. his 
mountain home, the " Eacle's Nest," in Delaware Co.. N. Y 



124 T^E Adirondacks. 

pretty, and about one mile long. It receives the waters of 
Blue Mountain Lake at its east end ; and this stream, which 
was then too shallow to float us in our loaded boat, is now 
the thoroughfare of the little steamers that ply these waters. 
(For matter relating to Blue Mountain and Raquette Lakes, 
see page 199.) Across Blue Mountain Lake we went, and 
rested on its west shore, 35 miles from Long Lake by the 
roundabout way which we have come, but only about five 
miles away over the mountains. 

The schoolmaster decided the question of which rouLe to 
take back by shouldering his boat and starting up over the 
mountain. The path was a gradual ascent for a distance, 
then led through a long reach of swamp and open meadow- 
land, where the springy surface of matted grass and interlaced 
roots shook and bent over unknown depths of black muck; 
then we descended into the forest-embowered waters of South 
Pond ; across South Pond to its outlet ; thence to Long Lake, 
and, by boat, to the hotel ; after which we chartered seats in 
a farmer's wagon, and went east to Newcomb to spend the 
Sabbath. 

Newcomb is 14 miles from Long Lake, 27 miles from Root's 
and 29 from North Creek. Stages run three times a week. 
At Root's, connection is made with stage to and from Port 
Henry and Schroon Lake. Newcomb is one of the oldest 
settled sections in the wilderness ; is quiet and comfortable, 
and affords good hunting and fishing. 

The Wayside Inn and The Half-way House afford 
Hmited accommodations for visitors. Price of board unknown. 

Washington Chase is postmaster, job printer, and dealer in 
drugs and general merchandise, and one of the enterprising 
men of the town. There is a water route, leading from this 
point, through Rich and Catlin Lakes, to Long Lake, striking 
the latter near its outlet. 



CHAPTER X. 



^^4 




"On the Tramp." 

HUS far our travels had been principally by 
carriage of some kind or by boat. We had 
passed almost around the great peaks but had 
not been among them. The mountains that 
now looked down on us from the north we had 
viewed from the other side and from the 
west. We had made a loop of over 40 miles 
in the trip to Blue Mountain Lake and back 
to Long Lake, then east to Newcomb. Now 
we must trust to our feet to carry us where 
neither boat nor horse could go, and thanks 
to the pure air, and our initiatory struggles 
over the various carries, we felt equal to the task. So, on 
Monday morning, with knapsacks strapped on our backs, we 
left Newcombs for Adirondack, the ruined village among the 
mountains, eighteen miles distant. 

Soon we saw an old friend, the Hudson River, here so nar- 
row that in places we could almost jump across it. From the 
north it came, moving sluggishly along between dark balsams 
that lined its banks. Away over beyond rested the faint blue 
crest of Tahawas, "the cloud splitter." 

" Tahawas," so called on the maps and in the postal depart- 
ments, is generally spoken of here as the "lower works," to 
distiguish it from the upper Adirondack village ; once there 
were extensive buildings at this place ; a long dam across the 
Hudson, here called the "North River," flooding the valley 
back to the outlet of L.i'c T': ;: fo •<, and barges floating be- 



126 The Adirondacks. 

tween the upper and lower village, carrying provisions up and 
the ore down. There was but one house standing there when 
we came. This was occupied by John Cheney the '' Mighty 
Hunter " who we had hoped to see but could not as he was away 
hunting at the time. This house was burned the year follow- 
ing (1874) and the Adirondack Club House, where entertain- 
ment is now offered to the passing visitor, built afterwards. 

After dinner we followed along up the road on the west side 
of the valley. About half way up, the foot of Lake Sanford 
is reached. This lake is four miles long with low marshy 
shores here and there, punctuated by round hills and knobby 
points. Just above the head of Lake Sanford is the " new 
forge." The huge building that inclosed is gone now, but the 
great stone furnace, forty feet square at its base, stands firm 
and solid as when made. 

The history of the place is brief and sad. In 1826 Messrs. 
Henderson, McMartin and Mclntire, who owned and operated 
iron-works at North Elba, were shown by an Indian, a piece 
of ore of remarkable purity, which he said came from a place 
where "water run over dam, me find plenty all same." The 
services of the Indian were secured at once, at the rate of two 
shillings and what tobacco he could use per day, to conduct 
them to the place spoken of. They found, as the Indian had 
said, where the water literally poured over an iron dam. Has- 
tening to Albany, a tract of land embracing the principal ore 
beds in that vicinity, was secured, forges built, and a road cut 
from the lower works to Lake Champlain. 

The ore was rich but the expense of transportation to market 
swallowed all the profits, the enterprise proving a financial 
failure. Still it was persevered in until the death of Mr. 
Henderson, who was killed by the accidental discharge of his 
pistol. He had always had a nervous fear of firearms and at 
this time his pistol was carried by the guide in a pack which 
he laid down to perform some service required of him. 
Thinking that it lay in a damp place, Mr. Henderson picked 
the pack up and dropped it on a rock near by. With the 
motion came a sharp report from the pistol, the hammer of 




The Adirondacks. 127 

which had probably struck the rock in faUing. Mr. Hender- 
son fell to the ground, saying " I'm shot," and soon breathed 
his last. The body was borne out on the shoulders of work- 
men, and afterward a beautiful monument placed where he 
fell, bearing the inscription : " Erected by fiHal affection to 
the memory of our dear father, David Henderson, who acci- 
dentally lost his life on this spot by the premature discharge 
of a pistol, 3d Sept., 1845." The place has since been called 
Calamity Pond. In the death of Mr. Henderson the motive 

power was re- 
moved, and three 
years after h i s 
death the works 
were abandoned. 
When the writer 
first visited that 
ADIRONDACK IN 1873. sectiou there was 

an old Scotchman and family in charge, who cared for the 
property and took in strangers. And well do I remember the 
night when they sent us to sleep in one of the deserted houses 
which had the reputation of being haunted. We did imagine 
that curious sounds were heard during the night ; but whether 
of some uneasy spirit or some poor dog that had been robbed 
of his nest we could not tell. We quieted our fears and 
consciences, however, with the reflection that if it were a 
ghost it would never think of looking for human beings in 
that bed; and, if a dog, he certainly hadn't lost anything 
worth mentioning in the operation. 

To-day but little appears of the ruined village. All but 
two or three of the buildings that stood therein 1873 have 
been removed or destroyed. The ancient school-house now 
does duty as a fish-hatchery, and the old kilns are overgrown 
with vines and shrubbery. 

There was something gruesome about the place when we 
approached in our tramp of '73. 

A quarter of a century had passed since the hum of industry 




LAKE SANFORD 



The Ruined Village. 129 

sounded there. Where once was heard the crash of machinery 
and the shouts of children at play, was heard the shrill bark of 
the fox or the whir of the startled partridge. In place of the 
music of voices, was silence, solemn and ghostly. Over the 
mountains and the middle ground hung a dark funereal pall 
of cloud, across which the setting sun cast bars of ashen light, 
that fell on the nearer buildings, bringing out their unseemly 
scars in ghastly relief, and lay in strips across the grass-grown 
street which led away into the shadow. On either side stood 
cottages stained and blackened by time, with broken windows, 
doors unhinged, faUing roofs and crumbling foundations. At 
the head of the street was the old furnace, one chimney still 
standing, one shattered by the thunder-bolt in ruins at its 
feet. The water-wheel — emblem of departed power — lay mo- 
tionless, save as piece by piece it fell away. Huge blocks of 
iron, piles of rusty ore, coal bursting from the crumbling kilns, 
great shafts broken and bent, rotting timbers, stones and rub- 
bish lay in one common grave, over which loving nature had 
thrown a shroud of creeping vines. 

Near the centre of the village was a large house that at one 
time accommodated a hundred boarders, now grim and silent. 
Near by at the left stood the pretty school-house. The steps, 
worn by many little feet, had rotted and fallen, the windows 
were almost paneless, the walls cracked and rent assunder 
where the foundation had dropped away, and the doors yawned 
wide, seeming to say not " welcome " but " go." 

" O'er all there hung a shadow and a fear, 
A sense of mystery the spirit daunted, 
And said as plain as whisper in the ear, 
The place is haunted." 

As we advanced a dog appeared at the side of the large 
house and howled dismally, then, as if frightened at the sound 
of its own voice, slunk away again out of sight. We knocked 
at the door, but no sound save a hollow echo greeted us from 
within — that was also deserted. Then we went out in the 
middle of the street where, suspended in a tree, hung the bell 
that used to call the men to work, and, on the Sabbath, per- 



130 The Adirondacks. 

haps, the villagers to worship in the little school-house near 
by. Clear and sweet, pure and fearless, its tones rang out 
over the forests, away to the mountains, then back to us, 
dying out in soft echoes. And with it went the cloud that 
had oppressed our spirits. 

We invited ourselves to enter, passed through the sounding 
hall to the rear, foraged around until we were satisfied that 
there was no danger of immediate starvation, then we built a 
fire and set about preparing our evening meal — at which point 
the rightful owners entered and went through the form of 
making us feel at home. 

This is now the headquarters of the Adirondack Club, who 
have leased and hold the surrounding territory as a game and 
fish preserve for the use of themselves and friends, and while 
their rules proclaim them a " close corporation," no one under- 
standing the circumstances can find reasonable objection. 
Stringent regulations apply equally to all members of the club. 
No member is permitted to hunt or fish outside the season as 
established by law, or hunt at all except on regularly appointed 
occasions. The small house at Tahawus and the larger 
building at the Upper Works are under competent manage- 
ment, and although primarily intended for the accommoda- 
tions of the club, provide excellent fare for the chance visitor. 
Price of accommodations is fixed by the club at $3.00 per 
day for all persons except guides and servants, and no person 
not a member of the club or their guests, will be entertained 
for more than a single night unless under pressing conditions. 
Parties who go through Avalanche Pass from the north and 
return by Indian Pass, or via versa, usually find the way too 
long for a single day, but breaking the trip at the Upper 
Works divides it evenly enough. Those who come are made 
welcome and entertained at the Club House in excellent 
shape. Myron Buttles the manager, is a walking encyclopedia 
of fact and figures, tireless in the discharge of his duty as 
manager and unremitting in his attention as host. 



Lake Golden. 131 

Calamity Pond is 5 miles toward the east and reached over 
a road which is used for lumbering in winter but which in sum- 
mer is passable only on foot. 

Lake Golden is two miles further, over a mountain trail. 
This is one of the wild lakes of the woods, and next to Avalanche 
Lake gives the wildest water view in the wilderness. On the 
west shore is a log house belonging to the Adirondack Glub 
where a forester is kept to guard the interests of the Associ- 
ation and see that laws respecting the preservation of game 
and fish are properly carried out. North of this log camp a 
few rods is an open camp where parties going or coming may 
make themselves reasonably comfortable for the night. 

Avalanche Lake is nearly a mile north of Lake Golden, 
the trail passing also along its west shore. Its altitude is 2,846 
feet above tide. Its waters are cold and its walls of rock are 
perpendicular on either side. It is half a mile in length, and 
but a few rods wide. Between it and lake Golden are the 
debris from two immense slides that decended the mountain 
long before the place was known, imprisoning the waters of 
this lake. A trap dike here shows a section of Mount Golden, 
split downward for a thousand feet, its outflowing rocks nearly 
bridging the lake. This lake, and, past it, Golden, is best 
reached now by trail from Adirondack Lodge, five miles 
north. See page 86. 

Lake Henderson is about half a mile north of Adirondack. 
It is two miles long with its outlet near the center, on the 
east. From its head a trail leads to the Preston Ponds, lying 
west of Wallface Mountain — the head of Gold River, which 
flows west into Raquette River. Toward the north we look 
up a gradual slope through Indian Pass ; the dark green sides 
of Mclntyre on the east, mighty Wallface on the west. 
Up this slope we went on the morning following our night at 
the Iron Works. 




CHAPTER XI. 

Indian Pass. 

HAD expected to find a level, fertile, grove-like 
way tlirough which we could walk with little 
exertion in the shadow of great rocks on either 
side, but how diflferent the reality. For three 
miles the rise was gradual, then we began to 
climb, crossing the riVulet back and forth as we 
went upward, at times making long detours to 
the right and ascending the mountain some 
distance, then a level stretch along its sides until 
the wildly dashing torrent was reached once 
more ; then onward, upward, the path growing 
wilder and more difficult, the brooklet bounding from rock 
to rock, then lost in some dark cavern, anon trickling down 
among the huge boulders, gurgling in muffled music beneath 
our feet, then bursting out to rest a moment in some mossy 
basin, pure crystal in an emerald setting on which floated 
fairy ships of Autumn leaves, then onward in its long jour- 
ney to the sea. 

We had caught occasional glimpses through the trees of — 
was it a cloud or solid rock that rested off toward the left, we 
could hardly tell until we traced its outline against the sky, for 
Indian summer had hung her mantle of haze over the great cliff 
and it seemed but a shade or two deeper than the blue above. At 
last, through an opening it came out ; vast, grand, overwhelm- 
ing, immeasurable. The eye saw it hanging in mid-air, a cloud, 
an outline, a color ; tender, sweet, luminous. The soul felt and 
bowed beneath its awful weight. The giant pines that fringed 
its brow seemed bristling hair, the great rifts and seams a 
faint tracery that scarred its sides. Motionless, it still seemed 
to be sweeping grandly away as clouds shot upward from be- 
hind and passed over to the east, then approachinP', and r» 




INDIAN PASS. 



146 The ADIRONDACKb. 

treating, as cool gray shadows and yellow sunlight raced 
swiftly across or lay in slant bars along down its misty face. 

Bui the highest point was not reached yet ; we were just 
entering at the lower gate, and for nearly a mile it was a con- 
tinuous climb over great chaotic masses of jagged rock, 
thrown there by some convulsion of Nature, now on a huge 
fragment that seems ready to topple over into the gulf below, 
now under a projecting shelf that would shelter a large com- 
pany, now between others from which hang dripping mosses 
and sprawling roots, stooping, crawling, clinging to projecting 
limbs, climbing slippery ledges, upward all the time. 

The trees that had found lodgment on the top of the rocks 
seemed to reach out thirstily tor something more than they 
found in their first bed ; one that we noticed had taken root 
on the top of a huge boulder, and sent down a mass of inter- 
woven reots twenty feet to the damp earth beneath. 

At last we near the summit and stand on Lookout Point ; 
close by rises that grand wall a thousand feet up, and extend- 
ing three hundred feet below us, reaching out north ani 
south, majestic, solemn and oppressive in its nearness ; a long 
line of great fragments have fallen, year by year, from the 
cliff above and now lie at its foot ; around on every side 
huge caverns yawn and mighty rocks rear their heads where 
He who rules the earthquake cast them centuries ago. Along 
back, down the gorge we look, to where five miles away and 
1,300 feet below us is Lake Henderson, a shining drop in the 
bottom ot a great emerald bowl. 

vSlowly the sun swung around toward the west, the shadow 
of the great wall crept down into the valley across the gray 
rocks, and over toward the mossy ones that had lain there 
unnumbered centuries; gradually the sweet tinkling, gurgling 
music of the infant Hudson died away and solitude reigned. 
Then as we passed onward a familiar sound came once more, 
faintly at first, then more distinctly, the singing of little 
waters ; first trickling over ocks, then dancing downward, 
increased in volume by tributary streams from the slopes of 
McLntyre — rocked in the same mountain cradle, twin brothers 
and equal at their birth — the mighty Hudson rolling south- 
ward, and the impetuous Ausable dancing away toward thp 



Indian Pass. 



147 



north Down the rocky bed of the stream we went until we 
had left the pass behind, through the thick pines and hemlock 
out into hard timber land, our only guide the blazed trees, for 
the leaves covered the ground like a thick carpet, often hid- 
ing the slight trail. Over the foot hills of the mountain on 
the west, often misled by seeming paths until the absence of 
scars on the trees warned us to retrace our steps and gather 
up the missing thread. On and on, until it seamed that the 
eighteen or twenty miles we had expected to travel before 
seeing a familiar landmark had lengthened out into twice that 
number; then in the gathering twilight we emerged from the 
woods in sight of North Elba, forded the Ausable — grown to 
be quite a river since we had left it away back toward its 
head — and up to Blin's, with a sound as though a whole 
colony of bull-frogs were having a concert in each boot 

Does it pay to go through Indian Pass ? I answer a thou- 
sand times yes. It costs a little extra exertion, but the 
experiences and emotions of the day come back in a flood ot 
nappy recollections, and the soul is lifted a little higher and 
made better by a visit to that grand old mountain ruin. 




M0U^T COLDEN 



McIntirh. 
[South from Blinn's. ) 



Indian Pass 



Over across the river at the west, visible from Blin's, is 
John Brown's grave, which we touched from the north, then 
passed westward to the Saranacs. 

Ames', something over a mile north and east, is described 
in the preceding pages. Here we took dinner, and, in the 
afternoon, went to Keene, thence south, through the valley ; 
but as that region is usually visited by way of Westport and 
Elizabethtown, we will glance at that route 



CHAPTER XII. 




Pleasant Valley. 

Leaving Westpon, an enjoyable stage ride of 
eight miles in a westerly course, takes us 
through a notch and out to where we can 
look down into that lovely, mountain-guarded 
retreat known as Pleasant Valley. It is 
scarcely less beautiful than its twin sister, 
Keene Valley, over across the grand ridges 
to the west, save that the mountains do not 
crowd against it quite so closely. Like the 
other, it is a favorite resort for the artist, the 
quiet lover of nature, and for ladies, whose protectors, made 
of sterner stuff, are roughing it in the mountains and lakes 
farther west. 

Elizabethtown is picturesque, and the county seat of Es- 
sex County. It contains a population of eight or nine hund- 
red ; has five churches — Congregational, Methodist, Baptist 
Episcopal, and Roman Catholic — four or five stores, county 
offices, court-house and jail, and two excellent hotels. It is 
peculiarly an American town, having very little foreign popu- 
lation ; with no mills or forges to fill the streams with sawdust, 
your clothes with soot, or your eyes with cinders. 

The Mansion House stands on the level plateau at the 
south edge of the village, 50 feet above the level of the 
Boquet River which flows north through the valley. It is a 
large building showing prominently as we dip over into the 
valley and with recent additions and connecting cottages will 
accomodate 150 guests. A pleasant feature is its music hall. 
It has been long and favorably known and has an excellent 
and well established patronage. Rates, $2.50 per day, $10 
to $14 per week. G. W. Jenkins, for some time past manager 
is now proprietor. 



EiJZABETHTOWN. I49 

The Windsor, enlarged, Orlando Kellogg, proprietor, is 
one of the most attractive hotels in the Adirondacks. It 
consists of four picturesque buildings, closely connected, 
each three stories high, affording accommodations for 
about 250 guests. The buildings are fronted east and 
north with double piazzas, and surmounted by large observ- 
atories with stained-glass windows. The convenient office 
and reception-room, music-room, cosy parlors, and commo- 
dious sleeping-rooms, show a thorough knowledge of the wants 
of the public. 

Repeated enlargements and improvements have made it 
very complete in its appointments and with desirable accom- 
modations for invalid and tourist. There are bowling alleys, 
tennis courts, and croquet grounds, and an excellent orches- 
tra here. Guides for the lakes and mountains, and horses 
and carriages for the beautiful drives around can be ob- 
tained on application. Telegraph office in the hotel. Rates 
2.50 to $3.00 per day. Special rates to parties making a pro- 
longed stay. 

Stages meet all trains and boats at Westport ; fare, $1.00. 
Through July and August, a fast train, connecting with night 
boats and sleepers at Albany and Troy, will reach Westport 
a little past 11 a. m. 

Keene Valley stages arrive here to connect with train and 
boat south, and return with passengers from afternoon boat 
north. Fare to Keene Valley, $1.50, S. & O. Beede, pro- 
prietors. 

Lake Placid stages leave daily, after June ist, Sundays ex- 
cepted, at 8 A. M., and, stopping at Cascade Lakes for dinner, 
arrive at Lake Placid early in the afternoon. Returning, 
leave Lake Placid at 10:00, arriving at Elizabethtown for 
supper, and connect, via Kellogg's stages, with south-bound 
sleeper at Westport. Fare, Elizabethtown to Lake Placid, $3. 
This route leads through what is undoubtedly the wildest and 
most picturesque section of the Adirondacks yet opened up 
to the public ; and, with the new four and six-horse stages of this 



Pleasant Valley. 151 

and the Westport line, tends to popularize the route among 
lovers of coaching, since so few desirable trips are left to the 
public. For those who prefer a more independent mode of 
traveling, special rigs can be secured by addressing the pro- 
prietors of the stage line, Agnew Brothers, Elizabethtown. 

Hurricane Mountain is the highest peak near by. It is 
a sharp cone, on which the sun seems to hang as it bids the 
valley good-night. A wagon road leads to its base, five miles 
distant, from which, by a sharp climb of two miles, the summit 
is reached ; giving one of the finest high views to be obtained 
in the Adirondacks — second, perhaps, only to that from the 
top of Whiteface. 

Cobble Hill rises at the southwest edge of the plain like 
a hugh, rough pyramid. Beyond this, toward the south, the 
mountains approach each other, growing rough and precipitous 
as the level interval narrows down; at places breaking off 
suddenly in perpendicular walls a hundred feet in height ; at 
others, rounding over in great, nobby, boulder-like masses, to 
the level, that flows along their base almost as evenly as though 
it were water instead of the bed of a valley. Split Rock 
Falls is eight miles south of Elizabethtown. 

EuBA Dam is, or rather was, the name of a little place 10 
miles south of Elizabethtown, but as its use had a tendency 
to familiarize the youth of the land with incipient profanity, it 
was changed to Euba Mills. Beyond, the road passes Dead- 
water, 16 miles; Roots, 23 miles; and Scroon Lake, 32 miles 
from Elizabethtown. 

North of Elizabethtown the road runs through close under 
the frowning ledge of Poke-o' Moonshine, past Auger Lake, 
and out across the plain to Keeseville, 22 miles distant. 

West, it winds up over the mountain pass, between Old 
Hurricane and the Giant, to Keen, 12 miles, by Cascade 
Lakes, 18 miles, out across the plain of North Elba, with its 
grand panorama of mountains at the south, to Lake Placid, 
27 miles (for which see page 83). 



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CHAPTER XIII. 

Keene Valley. 

'EENE flats undoubtedly possesses the 
loveliest combination of quiet valley and 
wild mountain scenery in the Adirondacks, 
if not indeed on the continent. Through it, 
from the south, come the sparkling waters 
of the Ausable, here flowing quietly along 
beneath overhanging maples and gracefully 
swaying elms, there rippling over glistenmg 
white sand ; now murmuring through pleas- 
ant meadow-land, anon dancing away among 
the stones ; then dashing down rocky race- 
ways to where, among the spray and foam of the cataract, it 
thunders and rumbles and roars as if angry with its prison 
walls; then onward between the dark overhanging ledges 
outward through the northern portals and away to ioin its 
sister from the great Indian Pass above. 

A little way south of the falls the road from Elizabethtown 
comes in on the east, south of this we follow up the stream 
that winds quietly along through the Flats from its head six 
miles above. Soon some of the beauties that have lent such 
a charm to this locality begin to appear ; we see sweet, restful 
shady, groves of water maples, great massy drooping elms, 
clumps of alders fringing the river brink, great canopies of 
native grape-vines clasping the huge rocks in loving embrace 
or festooned on the sturdy trees through which open up 
long vistas of meadow-land, a back-ground of mountain 
green, and above all, summits of glittering granite. 

On every side they shut us in, rising right up out of the 
Flat instead of the gradual curve of a mountain from the 
plain, showing that the bottom of the lovely valley is but 
the accumulated deposit of long ages, where the floods swept 



154 



The Adirondacks. 



down from the mountains and left their sediment in the notch 
below. Picturesque " bits " are found everywhere. The 
waterfalls are varied as the shifting forms of the kaleidoscope, 
many deserving particular attention. They are too numerous 
to mention, too wild and varied to be described. They must 




KEEXE VALLEY. SOUTH FROM BROOK KNOLL LODGE. 

be seen to be appreciated. If a guide be wanted for these 
short excursions, none more competent or entertaining can be 
ound than the veteran explorer, '^ Old Mountain Phelps," 
who knows wilderness ways by instinct, and talks with the 
elements as with familiar friends, but whose ripening years 
have caused him, regretfully, to yield to younger heads and 
limbs the long tramps through valley and over mountain 
heights in which he once delighted. See him at any rate, for 
a cordial welcome and pleasant hour is certain to be the 
result. 

When we reached Keene Valley, in our tramp of '73, we 
found accommodations at Crawford's for the night. In the 
morning we hunted up "Old Mountain Phelps," to show us 
the way further in. 

We found him at his home near the falls that bear his 
name ; a little old man, about five feet six in height, muffled 
up in an immense crop of long hair, and a beard that seemed 
to boil up out of his collar band ; grizzley as the granite ledges 
he loved to climb, shaggy as the rough-barked cedar, but 
with a pleasant twinkle in his eye andjan elasticity to his step 
then equaled by few younger men, while he delivered his 
communications, his sage conclusions and whimsical oddities, 
in a cheery, chirrupy, squeaky sort of tone — away up on the 
mountains as it were — an octave above the ordinary voice, 
suggestive of the warblings of an ancient chickadee. 




"Old Mountain Phelps. i55 

" So you wanted old Mountain Phelps to show you the way, 
did you ? " said he, " Well, I s'pose I kin do it. I'll be along 
as soon as the old woman'U bake me a short-cake. The wise 
man provides for an emergency, and hunger's one of 'em." 

Orson Schofield Phelps is what his parents named their 
baby, and "Old Mountain Phelps" is what every body calls 
him now ; but his first name 
was given years ago, some- 
time before he had earned 
the last. He was born in 
the Green Mountain State in 
1 8 1 6, from which he came to 
the western part of Schroon 
when 14 years of age; he 
had an enthusiastic love for 
the woods, took to them on 

every possible occasion, and \vcsssHas«!^B^^^»w/- 

was a loner time engaged in ^■^>--."<^^ - „„,^e» 

D O O **01X) MOUNTAIN PHELPS.' 

tracing out wild lot lines 

that extended far in the interior, '" where in those times, deer 
and speckled trout were as plenty as mosquitoes in a damp 
day in July." 

In 1844 he was with Mr. Henderson at Adirondack, soon 
after which he married and settled in Keene Valley. In 1849 
he made his first trip to the top of Marcy, passing out over 
Haystack around the head of Panther Gorge and to the 
summit, descending near where the main trail now runs, being 
the first man to get to the top from the east. He afterward 
cut what is now known as the Bartlett Mountain trail, and 
guided two ladies over it, a route that had been considered 
impracticable until then He also marked trails to the top 
of Hopkins' Peak, the Giant, up John's Brook to Marcy, and 
several others. He has made a valuable map of the wild 
country around, a section of which may be seen on page 152, 
is a prized and regular contributor to a local paper, and has 
written a voluminous treatise on the Adirondack lakes and 
mountains, trees, birds, beasts, etc., which shows the close 
observer and enthusiastic student of nature. 



Keene Valley. 



157 







S^^^^rT 



KEENE VALLEY FROM PROSPECT HILL. 

I Noon Mark ; 2 Dix ; 3 Nippletop ; 4 Snow ; 5 Rooster's Comb ; 6 Wolfs- 

jaws ; 7 Marcy ; 8 Mount Porter House. 

The most comprehensive and perfect " picture " is that 
seen from Split Rock or from Prospect Hill, the latter being 
near the home of Old Mountain Phelps and is the more easily 
accessible. 

The Estes House is on the east side of the river at the 
west foot of Prospect Hill. It will now accommodate 50. 
$10 to $15 per week ; I2.50 per day. J. H. Estes, proprietor. 
Mount Marcy is visible over John's Brook Valley from the 
Estes House. 

"Keene Valley," as understood by the postal depart- 
ment, is the little village of hotels and boarding-houses, 
church, post-office, stores and dwellings of native and summer 
residents, one mile from Prospect Hill and about 3 miles from 
the head of the valley. 

The Mount Porter House is about a mile west of the 
village on an upland spur that reaches out from the west, be- 
tween John's Brook, which comes foaming down from the 
heights of Marcy, and Slide Brook from the big Slide Moun- 
tain. It has an elevation of about 300 feet above the village, 
which it overlooks with a magnificent line of mountains that 
shut it in on the east side and extend north and south until 
the view is cut off by other mountain spurs reaching out from 
the west. Sombre Mount Porter is at the north, then comes 
Big Slide at the west, and away at the head of John's Brook 
Valley is Marcy, the greatest of the peaks, with the Wolf's 
Jaws and others that cluster around the Au Sable Lakes at 
the south. Great silver birches are here, and maples, and 
open sunny spots, high and dry soil, and air of a bracing 







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Keene Valley. 1^9 

tonic freshness that invigorates one like a sparkling October 
day. 

The chill of early spring or late autumn is driven out by 
immense fire-places in public rooms and smaller ones in the 
smaller private rooms. The building of this house in the 
spring of '89 was a marvel of quick work and visitors who had 
seen the place but an open spot in the wilderness the year be- 
fore, had reasons to feel surprised at the substantial edifice 
standing there ready for guests at the opening of the following 
summer. Extensive lands near by give pasturage to a large 
herd of cows, assuring fresh and pure milk and plenty of it. 
Farm products come abundantly from the lower land and all 
the necessaries of a well-kept hotel are to be found here. It 
is the end of the road and the beginning of the trail that leads 
up John's Brook to the top of Marcy. Here stages come 
and go regularly, with two mails a day, while the telegraph 
office in the house makes outside communication easy, and a 
well appointed livery affords means of riding or driving. One 
hundred and fifty guests can be provided for here. Rates for 
board $2.50 per day, $15 to $21 per week with special terms 
for the season. J. S. Holt, Manager. 

The Adirondack House, built in 1882, is the most promi- 
nent building as seen from almost any direction. It stands 
on rising ground at the west outskirts of the village, three 
stories in height with mansard roof, surmounted by a large 
observatory, and with broad double piazzas on three sides. 
The rooms are large and very comfortable in their furnishings. 
The barns and outbuildings have been removed to a distance, 
and the grounds around the house made pleasant and attrac- 
tive. A conduit from a mountain spring brings pure water to 
every floor. A special feature is the studio, which is placed 
freely at the disposal of visiting artists. Telegraph is in the 
office. This house has accommodations for 100 guests, and 
is open from June to October. Price of board, $2.50 per 
day; $io to $15 per week, subject to variation according to 
place and service. S. Kelley, proprietor. In this valley of 



i6o The Adirondacks. 

fresh things, the Adirondack House is notable for its vege- 
tables, its butter, and its fresh cream and milk. Those who 
ride or drive — and by the way riding is a popular amusement 
along the level roads and sequestered ways of Keene Valley — 
will find good saddle horses and spring buckboards (the 
easiest riding mountain wagon in the world) at command. 
For tennis, croquet, or the distinctively American game, 
ample grounds are provided here. For those who camp, 
camping necessaries can be had by application at the office. 
It is well to remember that the best guides are engaged well in 
advance, and those who would go into camp at the Au Sable 
Lakes, must have the service of the duly authorized guides, 
see further on. It may be of interest to some also to know 
that there are no less than five city doctors owning and oc- 
cupying cottages in Keene Valley. 

Stage leaves the Adirondack House morning and afternoon 
for the Au Sable Lakes. Fare for round trip, $1.25. Re- 
spectful attention marks the service of this house, from pro- 
prietor down, and a disposition to please and satisfy all rea- 
sonable desires in visitors, entitles it to public favor. 

The Tahawus House is a roomy, three story building, con- 
nected with a rambling group of less pretension, but looking 
very cosy and comfortable withal, and, with the various barns 
and out-houses, seeming almost a village of itself. A piazza 
extends across in front of the new part, and runs along the 
south, front (double here) and north sides of the old, making 
a covered promenade of over 300 feet. The larger building 
contains office, parlor and dining room, with sleeping rooms 
above and in the older part, furnished with the best of beds, 
the cleanest of Unen, and other things in keeping. The table 
is also all that can be reasonably desired. A distinctive and 
popular feature at the Tahawus House is its theatre, a build- 
ing 91 X 36 feet, with stage and all accessories necessary for 
amateur theatricals. Cottages and 1 2 new rooms have been 
added to the house, giving it a capacity for something over 
100 guests. A new ten-pin alley has also been built, which, 



Keene Valley. i6i 

with base ball grounds and tennis court, afford ample facilities, 
for healthful physical culture. Teams from the Tahawus 
House will meet guests at Westport, when notice is sent in 
advance, and carry them direct without change to their des- 
tination. Price for board, $2.00 per day; $8.00 to $12.00 
per week. 

The proprietor of the Tahawus House, Geo. W. Egglefield, 
is a scholarly man with radical ideas on some subjects, and 
well informed on general questions of the day— which, how- 
ever, is not allowed to interfere with the comfort of the guests, 
who may feel assuredof hearty and obliging attention. 

Maple Grove Mountain House is the title given orig- 
inally to a picturesque farm-house on the road about a half- 
mile up the valley from the little village, and later transferred 
to a more commodious building erected on higher ground 
close by. The newer building stands at the edge of one 
of the lower plateaus and commands a charming view of 
the valley in three directions. Close by in front runs the Au 
Sable ; at the rear is the maple grove which gave occasion for 
the name ; back of this is the steep mountain side with its 
lateral ravines and the weird Washbond flume. Accommoda- 
tions can here be found for about 40 guests. 

Conveyances of various kinds, suitable for large or small 
companies — carriages for the valley and buckboards for moun- 
tain roads — can be had at very reasonable prices. Board, 
$1.50 per day; $8 to $10 per week. House open for guests 
from June ist to October ist. Henry Washbond, proprietor. 

Flume Cottage stands at the entrance to Washbond's 
Flume, commanding an extended view of the valley north and 
east. Its owner, Martin Bahler, A.M., a graduate of Rutgers 
College, is principal of a flourishing young ladies' seminary, 
at Summit, N. J., and, as periodical landlord here, has made 
it a delightful place of rest for such as enjoy a vacation in the 
mountains. Entrance is hedged about with difficulties that 
make it charmingly unconventional as a house of entertain- 
ment, and as a consequence rather the thing to be able to 



i62 The Adirondacks. 

address your letters from Flume Cottage. Transients are not 
desired. A total stranger will need some reference. If a 
Hebrew, do not apply. Capacity, 40. Board per week, $10. 

From being a private cottage, first sought by the owner for 
vacation rest, it has grown to present proportions. A former 
guest speaks of it as " an ideal summer home, where food is of 
prime quality, and the rooms are well furnished and kept in 
first-class order." Another guest mentions Flume Cottage as 
a " romantic home, where comforts unexpected in a mountain 
region are found, and the charms of music and the cheerful 
intercourse of a refined home-circle enliven the dullness of a 
stormy day." An enthusiastic admirer of the mountains, th'e 
Professor is noted for his tramps, and is in his element when 
climbing breezy heights or acting as guide in exploring expe- 
ditions with guests possessed of like affinities. 

The Beede House was destroyed by fire on the morning 
of March 3d, and thus passed away an important landmark, a 
successful hotel, and a name. This property, together with 
the Widow Beede cottage, has been purchased by the Keene 
Heights Hotel Co., H. Seldon Loring, of Boston, President. 

St. Hubert's Inn is now being built on the site of the old 
Beede house. It is a carefully planned and attractive building 
designed by Wilson Bro. & Co. of Philadelphia, architects of 
well-known summer hotels. The plans adopted are for three 
connected buildings, each of three stories, with ample piazzas 
so arranged as to give all desirable views and shade. The in- 
terior arrangements are for a large dining-room, parlor, cen- 
tral hall and office, all with open fire-places. Also reading, 
reception, and smoking-rooms. The plans include steam heat, 
electric bells, bath-rooms, etc. The bed-rooms will be of good 
size, some of them with open fire-places and bay windows. As 
it will be impossible to complete the " Inn " this season, por- 
tions will be finished as fast as possible, and opened for guests 
about the first of July. Telegraph office in the house. 

St. Hubert's Cottage (an old friend under a new name, 
formerly the Widow Beede cottage) is under the same man- 



Keene Valley. 163 

agement as St. Hubert's Inn, and will be open for guests June 
ist. Price of board at the Inn $3.50 per day, $15 and up- 
wards per week ; board at the cottage $2.50 per day, $10 to 
$15 and upwards per week. 

Stage to railroad at Westport, 25 miles distant, daily bring- 
ing mail, etc. ; fare, $2.50. To be assured of rooms at any 
time between July ist and September ist, they should be en- 
gaged in advance. Address, F. L. Loring, manager, post 
office, Beede's, Essex Co., N. Y. 

The cottage stands oh the hillside that ends the valley, 
facing the north and flanked by the waters of the Au Sable 
and Roaring Brook that join each other but a few rods away. 
It commands a view of the valley as it runs straight away, with 
its high mountains on the right and left, their sides drawing 
apart as they recede toward the north until they melt away 
into the misty distance. 

The " Inn" is on land about 277 feet higher than the valley, 
1,240 feet above tide. The outlook is superb. Toward the 
east we see Hopkins Peak and the scarred sides and granite 
summit of the Giant of the Valley. Souih of us — a little to 
the east of where we stand — is Noon Mark ; between it and 
the Giant is Chapel Pond gorge. Southwest, is the road 
to the Ausable lakes, lying between the sharp peak of 
Colvin and the serrated summit of Resagonia. Back to 
the west is one of the lower ridges, over beyond which 
are the clustering peaks of the great central group. Along 
this, but a few rods away, the Ausable foams and dashes 
through its rugged path ; now tumbling from rock to rock, 
now foaming over in lovely cascades ; anon creeping quietly 
under overhanging trees, or gathered in the hollow of some 
huge granite bowl — but always picturesque and beautiful. 

Roaring Brook Falls are east of Beede's — the head of 
the cliff over which they fall being in sight on the side of the 
Giant, a little more than a half mile distant. The water here 
makes a descent of nearly 300 feet in a succession of cascades, 
hardly touching at each step to gather for the next succeeding 



164 The Adirondacks. 

plunge ; then flashing swiftly down the almost perpendicular 
rock for the last fifty feet, through a trough worn out by its 
action, to rest at the bottom ; and out, in pretty little falls 
and dashes, across the Chapel pond trail, and downward 
toward the north to join the Ausable. 

Chapel Pond is one mile farther, in a gorge, southwest of 
the Giant — a nearly perpendicular wall of rock descending 
abruptly to near the water's edge. It is one-half mile long and 
perhaps one-fourth wide ; its dark surroundings give an im- 
pressive air to this lonely sheet, and make it seem more 
fitting as a place for solemn meditation than for angler's 
sport. It is 1,602 feet above tide. 

The Giant's Washbowl is at the northeast, on the side of 
the mountain. It is said you can stand on its edge and throw 
a stone over into Chapel Pond, more than 500 feet below. 

The Chapel Pond road leads from St. Hubert's Inn east 
along the side of the gorge, past Chapel Pond to Euba Mills, 
at the head of Pleasant Valley; thence to Mineville, 15 miles, 
or to Root's, 17 miles from the starting point. The road is 
good, considering the country traversed, and between the two 
valleys is exceedingly wild and picturesque. A day can be 
profitably spent in making this excursion. 

Russell Falls are but a few rods distant, and may be 
reached by paths through the woods west of the Inn. 

To the top of Noon Mark it is two miles; Mount Colvin, 
five miles, the Giant about four miles ; Hopkins Peak, four 
miles. A trail was completed in 1885 from the Ponds road 
to Mount Colvin. It crosses McCrea's Brook over a sub- 
stantial rustic bridge, and passes near the Wizard's Washbowl 
and the high falls of Gill Brook. The steep ledge at the sum- 
mit is now easily scaled by means of stout ladders. Starting 
from the Inn, an average pedestrian can reach the signal in 
about three hours. A trail from the Lower Lake to Indian 
Head was opened in 1888, and a branch trail connecting with 
the trail to Mt. Colvin. A new trail to the top of the Gothics 
was opened in 1887. 



Keene Valley. 165 

Resagonia Mountain is in the southwest, its serrated out- 
line suggesting its local name of " Saw-teeth Mountain." East 
of this is the round, knob-like crest, known as " Indian Head ;" 
which, sphinx-like, looks out over the waters of the Lower Au 
Sable Lake. 

Mount Colvin rises beyond, sweeping back towards the 
south and east, to its sharp, clean-cut summit so named in 
honor of Verplanck Colvin, superintendent of the Adirondack 
Survey. 

The Adirondack Mountain Reserve is incorporated 
under the laws of New York, with the following officers : Wm. 
G. Neilson, Philadelphia, president; S. Sidney Smith, New 
York, secretary; Wm. C. Alderson, treasurer. The board of 
trustees are Wm. Alexander, S. Sidney Smith, C. C. Cuyler, 
and Frederick J. Stimson, of New York, and Wm. G. Neilson, 
Richard C. Dale, and Edward I. H. Howell, of Philadelphia. 

This corporation has purchased the tract of country lying 
south of Keene Valley, including within its limits the Au 
Sable lakes, and the great mountains surrounding them, ex- 
tending southwesterly to take in about one-half of Mount 
Marcy. The declared objects of the association are the pre- 
servation of the forests, lakes, and streams in their natural 
beauty ; to restock the water with fish ; to protect the game ; 
and to render more accessible, by roads and trails, the points 
of interest within its domain. To this end, has been built, 
practically, a new road, along the heretofore almost impassable 
line, from Beede's to the Lower Au Sable Lake, and opened 
to the public. Toll will be charged as follows : For season 
tickets, $1.50; two-horse carriage and passengers, trip $1,00; 
single rig, 50 cents; horse and rider, 25 ; pedestrian, 10; au- 
thorized guides and children under 10, free. The receipts for 
toll are to be expended in repairing and improving the road, 
and in making new trails up the mountains and to important 
lookouts. A stage will run regularly, during the season, from 
the village to the Lower Au Sable. Fare from Adirondack 



The Adirondacks. i66-b 

House, 75 cents, round trip, $1.25 ; from St. Hubert's Inn 
50 cents, round trip 75 cents. 

Some of the rules established by the A. M. R. may seem 
over-rigid ; but they have been adopted after a careful consid- 
eration of the case, and with a view to the best interests of all 
concerned. The fact that the owners themselves are bound 
as rigidly as the veriest stranger, is reply enough to those who 
would suggest anything but the best of motives, and the move- 
ment is to be commended by all right-minded persons who 
may not consider fishing and the taking of animal life as the 
only pleasurable sensations to be experienced here among 
nature's grandest scenes. 

A rustic gate-house is at the entrance to the Reserve, just 
south of the Inn. At the Lower Lake, a boat-house and 
cottage have been built, where refreshments, boats, and gen- 
eral information, with camp supplies and privileges, can be 
obtained. 

Cutting green timber, peeling bark, or defacing the prop- 
erty of the company in any manner, is forbidden. On Sun- 
days, boats will not be rented, nor will goods be sold by the 
agents of the company. No malt or spirituous liquors will be 

1 2 3 4 5 




UPPER AV SABLE LAKE. 

I. Haystack; 2. Bartlett ; 3. Saddleback; 4. Gothic; 5. Resagonia. 

sold on the company's reserve at any time. Hunting will not 
be permitted this season. Fishing allowed only by special 
permit. All the camps on the lakes are owned and controlled 
by the company, and no one will be allowed to occupy them 
unless accompanied by an authorized guide. Permission can 



l66-c 



Keene Valley. 



be obtained at the boat-house cottage, at the Lower Lake. 
Twenty-five cents per night will be charged each visitor for the 
use of a camp. 

Following is a list of the authorized guides of Keene Valley 
— an organization bound by rules of its own making, where 
membership may be accepted by the public as a guarantee of 
capabiUty. Address, at Keene Valley. Horace E. Braman, 



ONE MJLt SCAUe CHAiBeto. 

>lt 1^53 Ft ''^ 




E£0£ 
' BtfBt 

,r«fao. CAMPS 

Ion 



Arthur C. Trumbull, Melville J. Trumbull, George W. Han- 
mer, Oren E. Beede, Charles E. Trumbull, Charles Beede, 
Edmund F. Phelps, James Owens, George F. Beede, Harry S. 
Stetson, Melvin A. Hathaway, Le Grand Hale, Frank C. Par- 
ker (Forester), C. Wesley Lamb, Fred. E. Lamb. 

* * Hi * * * * 

We saw what was to be seen in the valley ; then, guided 
by old Mountain Phelps, with basket on back and lit- 
tle hatchet in hand, went to South Pass, where St. Hu- 
bert's Inn now stands, and up along brawling Gill Brook, 



Lower Ausable Pond. 



167 




MT. COLVIN. AUSABLB PASS. RESAGONIA, 



over a path that is sometimes dignified by the name of wagon- 
road, but over which but few would attempt to ride. 

" All things is possible and nothingompossible," said Phelps 
diving into the bushes on one side of the road, and soon re- 
appearing with a 
piece of band iron 
which he stowed 
away in his bag, 
" like as not I will 
need this to mend 
an oar or some- 
thing ; old Phelps 
is such an easy old 
critter to get along 
with, that they take 
his boat, bang il 
'round as much as 
they want to, may- 
be break an oar, and he never'll make a fuss about it; 
shouldn't wonder a bit if they had it off somewhere now." 

After what seemed a long four mile tramp through the 
woods, we came out in a little opening near the brow of a hill, 
and were just rising to look out when a fierce gust of wind 
from the other side set the old man's hat whirling back toward 
us ; we succeeded in spearing it, then as we turned and glanced 
out ahead, were surprised, almost dazzled by the wonder- 
ful beauty of the scene that flashed out so suddenly and un- 
expectedly on our astonished sight 

Ausable Pond in all its Swiss-like beauty was before us 
We stood at the end of our road on the brow of a hill whosr 
front had apparently been undermined, and ran sharply down 
to the water's edge, gleaming, drifting, unstable sand. On the 
left, close by, was old Indian Head, the side toward us all in 
shadow : rough and jagged, standing like some grim sentinel 
to guard the narrow pass at his feet — beyond was Mount 
Colvin, the sides rising in places straight up from the water, 
then backward to the sharp ridge over 2,100 feet above, 
seemingly crowned with a coronet of diamonds that flashed 
and glittered as the water trickled down over the rocks, and 




Indian Fach A USABLE POND. 



Au Sable Lakes. 169 

mountains were passing slowly, like some great glacier, to- 
ward the plain. 

Now, among birches that have grown at the outlet since 
our first visit, stands the boat-house cottage and refreshment- 
room, and a road, circling around the bluff where I speared 
the old man's hat, leads down to the water's edge ; but grand 
old Indian Head still looks out toward the dark green sides of 
Resagonia, and rivulets glisten on the side of Mount Colvin 
the same as then. 

From the head of the Lower Au Sable, a walk of something 
over a mile along the stream that connects the two brought us 
to the shore of the Upper Au Sable, where Phelps entered the 
bushes in search of the boat which we had left there. "Just 
as I expected," said he, with a whimsical triumph in finding 
matters as he had anticipated. " 'Taint there. Old Phelps's 
boats belong to everybody but himself. Wall, we haven't got 
much farther to go to my shanty, that's one satisfaction ; and 
maybe they'll let us stay there all night, considering that it 
belongs to me." So we skirted the west shore a Httle way, 
and came out at the shanty, where we found the hunting 
party jubilant over the fourth deer they had taken in three 
days, and preparing supper, to which we did full justice. 

Upper Au Sable Lake is about two miles in length, and 
a half mile wide. Without being the very wildest, it is, per- 
haps, the most picturesque of all Adirondack lakes. It re- 
flects, in its waters, a number of the most striking mountain- 
peaks, which, seen from this place, are varied and extremely 
beautiful. Some are thickly wooded slopes; others naked 
rock, seamed and scarred. On the east is the Boreas Moun- 
tain, a long, heavily wooded ridge, terminating at the north in 
Mount Colvin, and extending south about 10 miles. At the 
west is Bartlett Mountain, a high ridge, near the lake. Over 
Us south slope is seen the sharp cone of Haystack, which 
hides Marcy, the highest of the Adirondacks. Toward the 
north, comes Basin, Saddleback^ the Gothic, and Resagonia 
— a grand circle of giants, on whose sides we can mark the 



I/O 



The Adirondacks. 



course of mountain torrents and the white, glistening path of 
the avalanche. The shores of the lake are thickly wooded to 
the water's edge. 

This is favorite camping- ground, not only for hunters in the 
hunting season, but throughout the warm weather, among 
those who come here to enjoy its beauty and the unfettered 
life of the woods.. The camps are mostly open in front to 
f.ice the campfire, and are built and owned by the authorized 
guides of Keen Valley, by authority from the owners of the 
Reserve. 

The ascent of Marcy from Keene Valley is oftenest made 
from this direction, going by boat up the Au Sable inlet to 
Marcy Brook ; then up along the west side of Bartlett Moun- 
tain. We can hardly do better than give the trip in the 
words of tjie "Old Man of the Mountains," who stands ready 
to relieve us. So we will stand aside, and give him the floor. 

Ladies and gentlemen — Mr. Phelps. 

"Well, I guess I kin show you the way, fur I've been up 
there near a hundred times, I s'pose. Let's see, we're in 
Panther Gorge now, I believe, and, before we go up Marcy, I 
want to show you a sight up here, from the side of Haystack, 
that is worth seeing, where we can look right down into the 
gulf below. See that precipice on the Marcy side ? It is one 
continuous wall of rock, a mile in length, circling around to the 
head of the gorge, with Castle Column at its head. That is one 
of the wildest places in the Adirondacks, where, after a heavy 
rain or in the spring, streams pour down it from all sides. 
You see that water-course over there in the centre ? I have 
seen an almost unbroken sheet of water, six feet wide, pouring 
over that to the bottom of the gorge, almost a thousand feet 
below. Now we will pass on up the trail once more, just 
stopping to notice those shafts of rock across on the Haystack 
side. There are three of them, entirely detached from the 
wall near by, about ten feet square, and one of them near 
fifty feet high, with a loose cap-stone on top of it. The soft 



The Adirondacks. i/i 

rock mubt have crumbled away between them and the mair 
ledge while they were left standing. Now, out at the upper 
end and we begin to climb Marcy, striking the John's 
Brook trail that goes down to Keene Flats near its centre. 
Up here, on the side of the mountain, we find a little marsh, 
which is the head of the longest branch of the great Hudson 
River, and the largest branch of the Ausable ; but our trees 
are getting stunted and we will soon be able to see over the 
tops of them; it's about like going through a thrashing 
machine trying to get along before they are chopped out ; but 
here we are at last at the top, and you see this is the place to 
see things*, down there at Marcy Brook, where we turned to 
go through Panther Gorge, comes the other trail up this way, 
running spirally up the south side from east to west until it 
strikes the smooth rock that has been swept clean by the 
avalance ; then up that, across back and forth to its head. It 
is about as steep as the roof of a house, and when it is wet and 
slippery it's bad getting along, but when its dry it sticks to your 
boots like sand paper. In making the round trip the trail 
goes down the north side a ways to the head of the Opales- 
cent, then west through the valley and out by Lake Colden 
and Calamity Pond to the Adirondack Iron Works. 

The summit of Tahawus is comparatively level for 6 rods 
north and south, and 1 5 rods east and west, a few loose boul- 
ders lie about promiscuously. At the west end of this flat is a 
mass rising up some eight or ten feet that contains the high- 
est solid rock in the State of New York. Tahawus has some- 
thing of a ridge-like appearance, running north-east and 
south-west, although its whole formation is a comparatively 
round mound of rock. The upper thousand feet is bare, and 
clear the farthest down on the south-west side ; the west side 
of this mountain has more the appearance of a pasture hill- 
side than a mountain above vegetation, its partial covering oi 
Alpine grasses and other plants and shrubs give it a domestic 
and agricultural appearance. The whole south side is covered 
with bristly balsam up within a few rods of the top, and is the 
steepest and longest side, sloping away i}4 miles at the rate ol 
2,000 feet to the mile, to the foot of Panther Gorge. Large 
oortions of the south fide have been swept ofif by avalanchesi 



ij2 The Adiroxdacks. 

The east is far the roughest part of the mountain. It drops 
easily off the first i,ooo feet, and then takes one final leap of 
I, GOO feet into Panther Gorge. On the north side, it drops 
down to the head of the Opalescent Valley, more or less 
broken with precipices and ravines." 

North from Marcy, over beyond a mass of mountain ridges, 
is the cleared fields of North Elba. Turning toward the 
northeast, we look down John's Brook Valley into Keen Val- 
ley. Beyond is seen Lake Champlain and the Green Moun- 
tains of Vermont. East is Haystack and the Gothics. To- 
wards the southeast is the deep valley of Marcy Brook. Be- 
yond is Boreas Mountain, and the mountains that cluster 
about Schroon Lake and Lake George. Away off in the 
southwest is distant Blue Mountain and the Raquette Lake 
region. At our feet lies little Tear of the Clouds, — the high- 
est body of water in the Adirondacks, and the fountain head 
of the great Hudson River, — 4,293 feet above tide. North 
of west is Mount Golden, Mclntyre, and others of less note. 

" I once saw the clearing up of a thunderstorm on Marcy,'' 
continues the old man. "There was a tornado sweeping 
over the top of the mountain, and the fog-clouds, broken into 
patches, were running at lightning speed. When one of those 
clouds would strike the mountain all would be shut in with 
fog for perhaps two or three seconds, when it would open, 
giving a view of a dazzling, brilliant orange-tint over the 
whole western sky. This could be enjoyed from two to four 
seconds, when the enveloping fog would come again — to save 
one from going crazy, I suppose. 

''A thunderstorm in the night is an awful sight from the 
summit of Tahawus. I once saw one at near midnight, ap- 
proaching from the west, when it was all below me, and I 
could look on the top of the cloud and see the streaks of light- 
ning darting in every direction. It appeared like a mountain 
of serpents writhing in every conceivable manner. When 



Camp Phelps. 



"^71 



It finally reached me, it appeared very natural, with the 
exception the thunder seemed very near by. There are a 
great variety of fog scenes ; I saw one of three-fourths of the 
circle about me, a level ocean of fog and the other quarter 
clear; it made me think of a big pie with one quarter taken 
out; another one was of fog driven over Skylight in a bright 
moonlight night, it pitched over the east side like a mammoth 
water-fall, which it was, not of a river but a cloud ; anothei 
majestic sight was the gathering and passing up of what we 
call a quick south storm ; when I first saw it, it was some forty 
miles distant, coming on at the rate of a mile in two minutes ; 
4 massive cloud with the driping curtain of rain reaching 
down to the earth ; as it passed up nearer it threw out some 
ot the most wonderful shades and colors ; in the centre it was 
al a clear gray ; some six to eight miles to the east and west, 
of a bright purple, growing lighter to the extremes, and to 
the east and west softening down to a sunshine hazy light ; 
it passed over to the St. Lawrence lasting near two hours." 




" STORIES." 

Camp Phelps, on the upper Ausable, is one of the most 
complete in its appointment and management of any shanty 
in the Adirondacks. The structure is of an elegant design, 
and built of magnificent logs cut and curved artistically with 
knots of various and unique patterns in bas relief. The main 
door is about 2^ by 5 feet, swings outward, and is locked with a 



1/4 iHE ADIRONDACKS. 

string; it contains an immense reception room, drawing 
room, private parlor and sleeping rooms tn ^uite, vlth ward- 
robes sticking out all around the sides. The grand dining 
hall is situate out on the lovely lawn, which is quite exten- 
sive, and splendidly furnished with hemlock extensions and 
stumps. This spacious structure is six by ten feet on 
the ground, and between four and five feet high, and is sur- 
mounted by a Yankee xooi oi troughs in two layers, the upper 
covering the crevices in the lower so as to exclude the rain, 
but separated far enough to give perfect ventilation. This 
chef (T oeuvre oi 2iXc\v\\.^c\MXQ, is first class in every respect, it 
is luxuriously upholstered throughout with spruce boughs, 
in the culinary department is a stupendous range which floods 
the drawing room with light, and, in short, it contains all the 
modem improvements, including hot and cold water, which is 
carried to every part of the establishment in pails. Here we 
gathered, Crawford's party ot seven, and ours, ten in all, be- 
side two or three dogs, in a space about six by eight feet 
square, and while the fire snapped and flickered, filling the 
shanty with dancing shadows, stories of hunting and fishing 
adventures were told that all were expected to believe be- 
cause they were personal experiences, although occasionally 
one would have a familiar sort of sound with the exception 
of names and dates. Stories of personal prowess which cul- 
minated in one of a man who could pick up a two barrel iron 
kettle by the edge with his teeth, and the assertion by another 
that he knew a man who could perform the same feat sitting 
in the kettle himself when he lifted it, which was making light 
of serious subjects, and so Phelps told his bear story, how 
one day near the Boreas, he saw a big bear coming on the run 
after him and he, armed with only a little ax, then when the 
bear got within twenty feet of him he yelled " halt," which 
stopped the bear — he couldn't prevaricate, he did it with his 
little hatchet — he didn't feel scared any, only stirred up like, 
btrt the bear reversed ends and made off as fast as it could 
wabble. Then Uncle Harvey told all about how he killed a 
bear with a pitchfork once, and a moose with a club, after tir- 
ing him out in the deep snow. " But, by gawl, boys," said he, 
- When Dick Estus tumbled over backward on his snow shoes 



BREAKFAf- 



175 



and the cntter gave a lunge for him, I thought it was all up 
with him, but I just gave command to the boys, and at him wo 
went, and, by gawl, the way we laid it on his old hide was a 
caution, and there lay Dick, square on his back, looking up, 
thinkin' that every minute was his last, and, by gawl, I just 
managed to get a lick at the critter that fetched him just as he 
was standin' over Dick so," and the old hunter assumed a posi- 
tion, indicative of an enraged moose preparing to come down on 
an unfortunate little chap on his back in the snow, who couldn't 
turn over on account of his snow-shoes. Thus each had 
their stories to tell until time to turn in, when four of the 
party went across the pond to another camp, leaving six of us 
to occupy a space six feet long by six feet wide, and where we 
slept on edge, like a box of well-packed sardines, until day- 
light, when each man got up and cut a chunk of venison, salt 
pork or bacon as taste dictated, and each man for himself 
waltzed around that stove in the six by ten shanty until he 
had warmed it through enough to suit, or disguising pieces ol 
raw material in an outside coating of bread, proceeded to 
stow it away with that appearance of keen enjoyment dis- 
played by the average boy in taking a pill ; then a part rushed 
away to put out the dogs, others to the various runways. 
The old man gave his attention to some sort of a stew, 
which, as he had made no calculations on staying out all 
night, and the camp supplies had run low in the particular 
materials needed, was partially a failure ; the professor, with 
a home-sick sort of expression on his face, was picking away 
at an ancient piece of bacon, while an enthusiastic individual 
who had wallowed in an ecstacy of imaginative bliss, theoreti- 
cally, over venison stake, broiled at the blazing camp fire, 
was engaged in preparing a savory strip of the same, which 
tts he forgot to apply salt, and got hold of a piece just 
moderately warm— not cooked, at the first bite, roused a rebel- 
lious feehng within him, and he felt the full force of those 
saddest of all words, "it might have been (done,)" but it was 
not ordained to be, and at last, as his mind kept running 
on accounts of ship-wrecked people who had to eat each 
other or starve, and cannibalism seemed imminent, one ol 
Ihe ^ides came in like a dove bringing— -not the olive 



176 The Adirondacks. 

branch exactly — ^but a bag of oat-meal, which he made into 
pan-cakes, and those pan-cakes went to our hearts and 
stomachs like the blissful ecstacy of love's young dream. We 
were saved ! And while we ate he baked and brought them 
forward and the more we ate the happier he seemed to feel 
about it, none of your little patty-cakes, but great big fellows 
the size of the frying pan,light as sea foam almost, and making, 
with maple sugar, a breakfast, the which when suggested, 
makes my mouth water to this day. It was but a little act of 
simple courtesy, offered, perhaps, without a thought of return ; 
but it showed the willing disposition, and those pan-cakes 
touched a chord in the breast of one individual at least that 
will vibrate for all time, and if ever permitted to go there 
again he will ask for nothing better or if reports be true, a 
truer guide than Theo. White of Keene Flats, author of those 
glorious pan-cakes. 

After breakfast Phelps took us up the inlet, with its dark 
borders of balsam and tamarack, to the Elk Lake trail, where, 

1 234 5678 9 




THE GREAT PEAKS FROM THE SOUTH. 

I Golden ; 2 Allen ; 3 Skylights ; 4 Marcy ; 5 Panther Gorge ; 6 Haystack 
7 Basin ; 8 Saddleback ; 9 Gothic. 

bidding him a regretful adieu (for we had become attached to 
the cheery Old Man of the Mountains in our short acquaint- 
ance) we started on our tramp of sixteen miles, out through 
the woods to Root's, feeling that we were nearing friends who 
would be glad to welcome us home ; clearer in thought and 
stronger in body than when we entered ; glad to go back but 
sad at thought of leaving the mountains, over which we saw 
the storm cloud gather, break and roll away, leaving them 
bathed in the loving sunshine, clean, grand, strong and seem- 
ingly eternal, as The Hand that made them. 




CHAPTER XIV. 
Luzerne and Chestertown. 

UZERNE is situated at the junction of the 
Hudson and Sacandaga rivers, twenty-two 
miles north of Saratoga. It is inclosed by 
picturesque, rounded hills, heavily wooded to 
their summits, save here and there a break 
where some ledge looks out on the valley 
below. On the west are the Kayaderosseras mountains, on 
the east the Palmerton range, that has its rise at Lake 
(jeorge, and falls away into the level of Broadway at Sara- 
toga; toward the north they are broken, rocky and pictur- 
esque. These are the outreaching spurs of the Adirondack 
that rest so grandly away to the north, from which the 
I ludson comes flowing quietly along until it gathers among 
the great round boulders, then bounds, foaming and spark- 
ling, over the rocks in the exquisite little falls of Luzerne, 
a.tid hastens forward under the bridge and downward to its 
union with the Sacandaga at Ti-se-ran-do, " the meeting of 
tlie waters." 

From this down the river to Jessup's Landing is six 
miles of still water, then sweeps around almost north again. 
At Palmer's Falls it is gathered in a narrow channel, then 
with a multitude of little leaps and breaks, churned and 
beaten into foam by its fall, it rests at the bottom sixty feet 
below. 

Luzerne Lake is a pearl set in emerald, lying at quite 
an elevation above the village proper ; a crystal drop on 
the hill side, kept there by a narrow embankment through 



1/8 The Adirondacks. 

which the outlet finds its way, and after amusing itself among 
sets of water-wheels, it passes out into the Hudson and to the 
sea. 

The Wayside is just north of the village, near the lake. It 
has connected with it a number of cottages which can be 
rented for the season, affording altogether accommodations 
for about 200 guests. It is an imposing structure with nu- 
merous gables, porches, piazzas and balconies. The interior 
is in keeping — roomy, rambling, airy ; with pleasant office, 
dining-room and parlor, and with a charming outlook over the 
lake and forest, and the rolling meadow land around. It has 
telegraph station in the office, and an excellent livery within 
call. Guests are transferred to and from all trains free. E. 
C. King, for some time chief clerk, is the manager. Rates, 
$3.50 to $4.00 per day; open June i8th to October ist. 

Rockwell's Hotel fronts on the main street of the village, 
its grounds extending back to the Hudson and overlooking the 
falls and chasm just above the junction of the two rivers. The 
main building is three stories in height, and contains the office, 
parlors, etc. From this extends a long wing with side piazzas 
facing the river. On the grounds are a pretty cottage and a 
larger building with pleasant, richly furnished rooms en suite for 
those who may prefer them to the more public places in the 
main building. Accommodations are here offered to 150 guests. 
G. H. Rockwell, owner and proprietor. Board, $2.50 per 
day; $10.50 to $14 per week; children and servants, $7 to 
$10.50 per week. Free carriage to and from trains. 

This hotel has long been noted for providing one of the 
best of tables, and for its general excellence throughout. It 
has earned for its proprietors a reputation that has made the 
name of Rockwell, like that of Leland, a synonym of all that 
is complete in this direction. 

The River View, standing just south of Rockwell's Hotel, 
will provide for about 80 guests. E. M. Garner, proprietor. 
Rates, $2.50 per day, $10 to $15 per week. Open the year 
round. Free carriage to and from the depot. 



Chestertown. 



I^TQ 



Luzerne is on the old Indian trail from the great villages 
of the Mohawks to the head of Lake George. Here King 
Hendrick and his braves encamped when on their way to join 
Johnson at the lake in 1775. 

North of Luzerne 
road runs along the river, 
at times crowded close 
against its brink as the 
valley narrows down and 
the mountains grow more 
abrupt and precipitous. 

Riverside is 28 miles 
from Luzerne, and 50 from Saratoga. Here 
the cars are left for Chestertown and 
Schroon Lake, otherwise the place is of 
little interest, save in the graceful suspen- 
sion bridge which is thrown across from 
shore to shore. 

Chestertown is a thriving little village 
of about 200 inhabitants, lying six miles 
east of Riverside. Its environment is picturesque, with lakes 
and valleys and with rolling hills that rise in places to be con- 
siderable mountains. The roads about it are interesting, and 
riding and driving the popular amusement ; but, still, only a 
short walk is needed to reach woods where partridges and the 
smaller game are found. The lakes near by afford superior 
bass fishing. 

The Chester House is on high ground in the village. It 
is three stories high, with pleasant piazzas, and is fronted by 
a nice grove of maples. It was for years popular under the 
management of M. H. Downs, when it earned the reputation 
of spreading one of the best of tables. It is now under Harry 
S. Downs, son of the former proprietor, who, with consid- 
erable experience in the business, adds a pleasant presence, 
an obliging disposition, and youthful zeal and enterprise. 
This house will care for about 150 guests. Rates, $2 per day; 
$10 to $12 per week. 





CHAPTER XVII. 

ScHROON Lake. 

CHROON LAKE is undoubtedly one of the 
most popular semi-wilderness resorts in the 
country ; it is surrounded on all sides by moun- 
tains, not high, but wild and rugged, and 
broken into curious fragmentary masses, grow- 
ing smoother as you approach the north end. 
It is nearly ten miles in length, perhaps two wide, and 
divided in two nearly equal portions at the narrows. It 
receives the waters of Paradox and other lakes and streams 
at the north and empties through Schroon river into the 
Hudson at Thurman. The shores are low, receding in 
gentle slopes for a distance, then rise up into the mountains 
surrounding it. Near the southern extremity is Pottersville ; 
3,t the north the village of Schroon Lake. It is reached 
usually by the Adirondack Railroad, from Saratoga to 
Riverside, then by stage to the outlet, and by steamer to 
the village at its head. Distance from Saratoga, 65 miles ; 
fire, $3.75. 

The Leavitt Stage Line, between Riverside and Schroon 
Lake, is not unworthy of special notice, the ride affording a 
pleasant change from the cars, giving variety, without con 
tinuing long enough to become wearisome, followed by the 
halt for dinner, and the race to the steamboat in the open 
wagons. The four-horse coaches used here are of the well- 
known Concord build. The stock is first-class, and the 
drivers are of the most reliable, Eugene Leavitt, proprietor 
of the line, being considered one of the best whips in the 



ScHROON Lake. 



i8i 



country. Six-horse, tally-ho stages run to the main trains, 
and lighter wagons of this line connect morning and evening, 
with the ''sleeper" at Riverside. 

PoTTERSViLLE HoTEL is six miles from Riverside. It is 
the regular dining place for passengers going or coming, and 

furnishes a wholesome 
and most substantial 
dinner. John B. Wells, 
for sometime its 
manager, is now owner 
and proprietor^ having 
secured this property by 
'Okie purchase. Mr. Wells is 

*»/ a young man, full of 

energy, and brings to 
the business experience of value 
from the Wells House on Schroon 
Lake. The house is comfortably 
furnished, and affords pleasant ac- 
commodations to those who may 
prefer this to the northern ex- 
tremity of the lake. Trout Brook, 
running close by the house, affords 
very good sport, while river and lake fishing-ground is easily 
reached. At the northwest the country is extremely wild. 
Rates for board are $2 per day ; $7 to $10 per week. 

The Steamboat Landing is at the outlet of Schroon Lake, 
something less than a mile from Pottersville. Here the 
"Effingham," Captain Sam Russell, waits the coming stage. 
The sail through Schroon Lake is delightful, and not so long 
continued as to become tedious. Fare 75 cents. 

Adirondack is a hamlet on the east, four miles from the 
outlet. The Wells House affords accommodation for about 
100 guests. George Cecil, proprietor. 




1 82 The Adirondacks. 

The Taylor House is at Lake View Point, nearly op- 
posite Adirondack. The steamer touches here on all regular 
trips. Fare to head or foot of lake, 50 cents. The main 
building and 15 cottages among the pines form a very at- 
tractive picture. Telegraph in 'the house. Capacity, 150. 
Rates, $12 to $17 per week; $2.50 to $3 per day. C. F. 
Taylor & Son, proprietors. P. O., Taylors-on-Schroon. 




12 3 4 5 

SCHROON LAKE VILLAGE FROM SOUTH. 

1 Dock ; 2 Ondawa House ; 3 Lake House ; 4 Windsor ; 5 Leland Heuse. 

ScHROON Lake in general, we have spoken of. Schroon 
Lake in particular means the collection of little houses and 
big hotels at its head. Like the inhabitants of Caldwell, 
who embezzled the entire name of Lake George, for postal 
purposes, the httle village here has swooped down and 
gobbled up " Schroon Lake," without regard to the rights or 
feelings of those who may locate at different points along its 
shores, and who, when they have occasion to say they live at 
Schroon Lake, find it necessary to explain that they mean 
only near the water thereof. 

The little village is, however, worthy of the best name on 
record, if beauty of location and general appearance entitles 
one to such. The main street through which the road runs 
to the north is a fine shaded avenue, the land sloping down 
to the edge of the lake, displaying the whole in a very 
pretty manner. It is a thoroughly wide awake town, show- 
ing a degree of enterprise that many larger places might 
well be proud of; daily mails are maintained throughout the 
year; the telegraph brings it in direct communication with 
the great cities. The churches are good — although Schroon 



ScHROON Lake. 183 

Lake doesn't rely much on its churches. The hotel accom- 
modations are first-class, while the enterprise of their propri- 
etors, together with the fine natural attractions of the place, 
has earned for this a world-wide reputation, standing second 
only to Lake George — ahead of it, even, with those who de- 
light to point the rifle or cast the fly. The society here is of 
a refined class, scarcely any of the rowdy element finding its 
way in, for the bright skies, the waving fields, the far-reaching 
forests, and the grand freedom of the mountains, possess Httle 
that is congenial to the tastes of such. 

The Grove Point House is about a half-mile south of 
the village, and the steamboat lands here on its regular trips. 
The house is attractive of itself, and is picturesque in its sur. 
roundings. It prospers because its manager is thorough, en- 
ergetic, and withal, obliging. It contains many of the con- 
veniences and appliances of the modern hotel, including elec- 
tric bells. Accommodations are here off'ered for about 75 
guests. Rates, $2 per day; $8 to $12 per week. An illus- 
trated circular, giving particulars, will be sent on application. 
Captain W. A. Mackenzie. 

As we approach the village, the most prominent objects are 
the hotels — the Leland House, on the high ground at the 
right; the Schroon Lake House, near the water's edge; over 
this, the Windsor House, and the Ondawa, among the trees 
at the left of the Lake House. 

The Leland House is the leading hotel of Schroon Lake. 
From its commanding position it overlooks the lake in three 
directions — south, east, and north, and, on the west, the 
village and the hills beyond. On its south front is a broad, 
high piazza, double at the ends; and, in front of this, a grand 
^ort-coachare — a pleasant and duly appreciated feature of a 
sunny day. An observatory on the top of the building is 107 
feet above the lake, and gives a view of rare beauty and con- 
siderable extent, showing the full reach of the lake at the 
south, and a charming picture of Schroon Valley toward the 



ScHROON Lake. 185 

north. The grounds are about five acres in extent — a grassy 
lawn, shaded by young trees and provided with modest little 
summer houses. Two large cottages, connected with the 
main building by an extension of the double piazzas at either 
end, afford retired quarters for those who may prefer such to 
the more public rooms in the hotel proper. Within the office 
will be found Western Union Telegraph connections, news 
and fancy-goods stand. This is one of the few hotels where 
the main office is made the pleasant gathering-place of the 
lady guests. It was built in 1872 and at once became popu- 
lar. It was enlarged in 1875 and again in 1881, and still 
again in 1888, by the addition of a large wing to give a 
children's dining room 12 by 30 feet, and 30 new sleeping 
rooms. The grand dining room has also been enlarged giving 
it a seating capacity of 300, and a new kitchen built and fur- 
nished with the modern appLances. The house is nicely,even 
richly furnished, the public rooms attractive and cozy, the 
sleeping apartments provided vith the best of beds, and their 
appointments throughout in good taste. The sanitary con- 
ditions here are believed to be perfect — the land, sloping off 
in all directions, rendering the question of drainage a simple 
one. The table is superior, and the service all that can be de- 
sired—in short, the Leland House is an exceptionally good 
" all around " house. The proprietors are Messrs. L. R. & 
E. D. Locks, accomplished hotel men both, with plenty of ex- 
perience, energy, and many of the other requisites that go to 
make up the successful landlord. This house is open from 
June 15th to October ist. Capacity, 250. Rates, $3 to 
$3.50 per day, $12 to $25 per week. 

The Lake House stands nearest to the steamboat landing 
and will accommodate about 100 guests. Rates, $2.50 per 
day,$io.5o to $14.00 per week. Open from June 20 to October 
I St. E. E. Riddell, formerly of the Riddell House, Luzerne, 
proprietor. The main building is 100 feet front, with a piazza 
extending along its entire length. It is generous in all its 



1 86 



The Adirondacks. 



proportions. Its rooms are large and well furnished. A 
pleasant feature of the house — hibernically speaking — is its 
open platform outside, overhanging the lake shore, and itself 
overshadowed by widespreading trees, affording one of the 
most delightful imaginable resting places of a sultry afternoon 
or evening. Underneath this platform, in the bank, is a cold 
spring from which the water is forced up into the house. The 
hotel, as conducted by Mr. Riddell last year, has been spoken 
of in the highest terms by old guests. A generous policy 
marks the new management and can not fail to attract visitors 
and bring success. 

The Arlington Cottage, on the northern outskirts of 
the village, is a pleasant place, nicely kept, and capable of 
providing for about 30 guests. A summer house on the 
grounds commands a very pretty view of the village and water 




THE ARLINGTON COTTAGE. 

at the south, of the head of the lake across the sloping 
meadows at the east, and toward the north, one of the finest 
prospects of this section. The place has many friends ; is 
cozy, wholesome and homelike. C. C. Whitney, proprietor. 
Rates, $2 per day; $7 to |io per week. 



SCHROON Valley. 187 

The Ondawa House is west of the Lake House. Adver- 
tized capacity 100 guests. Maurice O'Connor, proprietor. 

Hotel Emmet is a small house on the main street. Board, 
$2 per day. Open summer and winter. E. E. Hunter, for- 
merly of the Windsor, manager. 

The Windsor Hotel is west of the Leland House. Ca- 
pacity 80 guests. Rates $2, to $2.50 per day. $10 to $12 per 
week. Martin Talbot, proprietor. 

The Leland Cottage, on Main street, has accommoda- 
tions for about 25. Rates, from $6 to $9 per week. J. M. 
Leland, proprietor. 

The Prospect House is on the main street of the village. 
Will provide for about 30 guests at $9 to $12 per week. Open 
from June to October. J. A. Pitkin & Brother, proprietors. 

Stages run mornings from Schroon Lake to Hammondvllle 
II miles distant. Fare $1.50. Connec- 
tion is made over the Crown Point Iron 
Co.'s railroad, with afternoon train on the 
Delaware & Hudson Railroad. 

Paradox Lake is four miles north of 
Schroon. It is four miles long, measured east and west. At 
its west end the shores are low and smooth ; at the east, abrupt 
and rugged. 

Paradox House, on the south side of the Lake, two miles 
from its outlet, is noted for trout dinners. 

Root's Hotel is nine miles north of Schroon Lake, 27 
east of Newcomb, 23 south of Elizabethtown, and 17 west of 
Port Henry. Wm. M. McCray, proprietor. Post office, 
Schroon River. 

Toward the west, between the mountain whose jagged 
sides come down to the edge of the valley, runs the road to 
the Boreas region, Newcome, and Long Lake. 

Elk Lake is reached by leaving this road five miles east of 
Root's, and proceeding northward thence, by a good road, 
five miles farther. From this point the trail leads over Boreas 
Mountain to the head of Upper Au Sable Lake, about six 
miles distant, for which see page 168, 





VIEWS ON THE ADIRONDACK RAILWAY. 



North Creek. 189 

North from Root's stretches the beautiful valley of the 
Schroon, until the gradually approaching mountains on either 
side come together at Deadwater, where the waters of the 
Schroon River, here a mere brook, are gathered and begin 
their winding way southward. 

At Euba Mills, 13 miles north of Root's, roads diverge — 
the one bearing toward the right leading down through Pleas- 
ant Valley, to Elizabethtown, 10 miles; the other toward the 
left, upward through Chapel Pond Gorge to Keen Valley, 
about six miles distant. For these points, see pages 148 and 
152 respectively. 



North Creek is the terminus of the Adirondack Railroad, 
and the point of departure for Newcomb, the Adirondack 
Iron Works, via Minerva, and for Blue Mountain and 
Raquette Lakes. 

Through the summer trains run twice daily each way, and 
a night train, with through sleeping car attached, leaves Grand 
Central Depot, New York, at 7.30 p. m., arriving at North 
Creek early in the morning. 

The American, a short distance from the depot, is the best 
hotel at North Creek, and provides good, substantial fare at 
the very reasonable rate of $6 to $10 per week; transient 
guests, $2 per day. John Mclnerny, proprietor. Mr. Mcln- 
erny will also furnish horses and light or heavy carriages, for 
interior places, at reasonable prices. Parties for Aiden Lair, 
Newcomb Lakes, or the section around the Adirondack Iron 
Works, not reached by daily stage, will find it advisable to 
make arrangements for conveyances at this point. 

Minerva is eight and a half miles distant. Stage runs on 
arrival of noon train. Stage leaves Minerva for Long Lake 
Wednesday and Saturday, via Aiden Lair, eight miles — a 
''gamey" country, and a very good fishing locality — and New- 
comb, 14 miles farther, for which see page 124. 

Stages leave for Blue Mountain Lake on arrival of trains at 
North Creek, morning and noon. The morning stage con- 



190 The Adirondacks. 

nects at Blue Mountain Lake with steamer for Raquette Lake, 
— all landings — and with stage for Long Lake. Stage leaving 
on arrival of noon train reaches Blue Mountain Lake for sup- 
per. Stages, fare, North Creek to Blue Mountain Lake, $3. 
Patent canopy-top buckboards, may be had by paying an ad- 
ditional sum, for which apply to the stage agent at either end 
of the route, personally or by mail or telegraph. 

The North River Hotel is five miles from North Creek. 
W. H. Roblee, proprietor. This is the regular dining place 
for all passengers over this road in going in or coming out of the 
woods, and provides a meal seldom equalled in its wholesome- 
ness and hunger-satisfying nature. Stages run as far as this 
point, on arrival of the evening train from the south, bringing 
such as may desire to remain over and be fortified with a 
night's rest and one or more of mine host Roblee's excellent 
meals for the longer ride of the morrow, and it is recom- 
mended that those not over robust break the journey here, 
taking buckboards for the interior in the morning. A day or 
more can be spent here to advantage, either for rest or sport. 
The surrounding country affords excellent fishing and the 
smaller game, and is within easy walking distance of points 
where the larger kinds may be found. The house will provide 
for 40 guests. Rates, $2.50 per day ; $10 to $15 per week; 
dinner, 75 cents. Connection with the Western Union Tele- 
graph is made at this point. 

Thirteenth Lake is four miles west, and is reached over 
a very good road. It is about three miles in length by half mile 
wide, and 1,952 feet above tide. It affords excellent fishing, 
and the wild country around it is noted hunting ground. 

A short distance above North River we climb up through a 
high notch at the west, rising a thousand feet in something 
less than four miles, then descending gradually, cross a stretch 
of burnt land to Indian River. 

The Indian River Hotel, with capacity for 40, is at the 
crossing, 11 miles from North River. Frank Moody, pro- 
prietor. 



Indian Lake. 191 

The Seven Chain Lakes are at the north, about seven 
miles distant, and reached over an indifferent road, Bonney's 
little hotel is on the third lake, which is the largest of the 
group, being about two miles in length. From the fifth lake 
a land-and-water route leads north to Newcomb, something 
over ten miles distance. 

Indian Lake (P. O.) is one mile west of Indian River. A 
few houses at intervals along the road, and a very comfortable 
looking hotel called the Ordway house, with stores, and a 
post-office, constitute the village. 

Indian Lake (that is the lake proper), is about two miles 
south of the village. The original lake was about three miles 
long, but its overflow sets back in times of high- water, increas- 
ing its length to something more than twelve miles. 

Lewey Lake is twelve miles south of Indian Lake Village. 
The overflow of Indian Lake at times reaches back to the falls 
at outlet of Lewey Lake. In low water the river between the 
two is navigable, with the exception of a short carry around 
the falls above mentioned. A Httle hotel at the head of 
Lewey Lake is kept by J. McCormick. Will accommodate 
about 40. P. O., Indian Lake. 

Cedar Lakes are reached by a rough eight-mile trail from 
this point west, or by road from Lake Pleasant, or via Cedar 
River route, from the Blue Mountain Lake road. 

The West Canada Lakes, belonging to another system, 
and discharging into the Mohawk, may be reached from the 
Cedar Lakes by short carries. 

******* 

Lake Pleasant can be visited best via the Fonda, Johns- 
town and Gloversville railroad to Northville, thence by stage 
to Sageville. Sacandaga Park, at the terminus of the railroad, 
one-fourth mile from Northville, has a commodious and well 
kept hotel, and a number of handsome summer cottages be- 
longing to private parties. 

Sageville, the county seat of Hamilton County, is a scat- 
tered village or 40 or 50 families, centered at the southwestern 



192 The Adirondacks. 

extremity of Lake Pleasant, and between it and Round Lake. 

The Lake Pleasant House kept formerly by S. D. An- 
drews is now owned and kept by Geo. A. McCoy. Capacity 
35. Rates, $2.00 per day, $8.00 to $10.00 per week. New 
furniture has been added, and the house is now in good condi- 
tion and gives good entertainment and service. It is near the 
lake shore and is a very acceptable resort among sportsmen. 
After July ist there will be a daily stage. Fare from North ville 
to Sageville, $2.00. Parties of three who may prefer special rig 
can be supplied by Mr. McCoy for stage fare. Call's Hotel 
will provide for 75 guests. Board, $8.00 to $12.00 per week j 
$2.00 per day. Silas Call, proprietor. 

Lake Pleasant is about four miles long. At the north- 
western extremity of the lake is the Sturges House. 

Piseco Lake is about six miles southwest of Sageville, and 
affords good fishing. 

Cedar Lakes are 15 miles northwest; and Lewey Lake 12 

miles north of Lake Pleasant. 

******* 

The Cedar River House, known formerly as Jackson's, is 
20 miles from North Creek. 

The road from this point in to Blue Mountain Lake, 10 
miles, is through almost continuous forest save the occasional 
opening made by some stalwart settler, and the to-be-expected 
"Half-way" house where the horses are watered and allowed 
to get their breath while the expectant landlord stands invit- 
ingly ready to serve the passengers with stronger liquid. 

Note in passing the devastation caused by the cyclone of 
'S8. If "Texas Jack" happens to be your driver get him to 
give his veracious history of the affair. He was through it all, 
and lives to tell the story ! 

Blue Mountain Lake is fairly in the Great North Woods. 
It is the opening of communication by boat with the magnifi- 
cent system of lakes and streams which cover so large a por- 
tion of the Adirondack wilderness. It rests 1,800 feet above 
tide, is an irregular oval in shape, extends nearly three miles 



Blue Mountain Lake. 193 

its longest way, and empties at the west, through Eagle and 
Utowana lakes into Raquette Lake. 

Blue Mountain Lake House is on the east shore of the 
deep bay which first appears as we approach from North 
Creek. The first hotel at Blue Mountain Lake was built here 
in 1874, by Dr. G. R. Martine, of Glen Falls, N. Y., to whose 
energy and far-sightedness much credit is due for the initiatory 
in opening up this now popular gateway into the Adirondacks, 
and for whose unswerving belief in the valuable curative 
properties of this high mountain region, many have reason to 
feel grateful. The old house was burnt to the ground in 
1886 ; but, with the same energy which has characterized the 
management in all its undertakings, arrangements were imme- 
diately made for its rebuilding on the old site. This new 
house is spacious and attractive. The main part is four 
stories high and 150 feet long, with fine, broad piazza, facing 
the lake, and a rear extension, almost as large as the main 
building; giving, with the cottages, accommodations for over 
300 guests. It stands on an elevation, overlooking a grove of 
native trees, through which paths lead down to the sandy 
beach, from which the steamboat starts on its daily trips down 
the lake. Ten outlying cottages, among the trees, afford very 
desirable quarters for those who may prefer apartments re- 
moved from the stir and bustle of a great hotel. Telegraph 
office connecting with the Western Union system, and stage 
and steamboat ticket offices, are in the hotel. Stateroom and 
sleeping car berths can be secured here. Board, $3 per day, 
with special rates for the week or season, according to rooms 
and accommodations. John G. Holland, proprietor. 

Mr. Holland is the pioneer hotel man of this section. He 
is genial, accommodating, and popular, winning the esteem of 
his guests ; so that those who have once enjoyed his hospi- 
tahty are generally his warm advocates thereafter. With him 
the old house had a patronage greater, perhaps, according to 
its capacity, than any other one in the wilderness, and under 
him the new one must likewise prosper. 



Blue Mountain Lake. 195 

The Blue Mountain House is about a mile north of the 
Lake House. It stands on the side of Blue Mountain, 200 
feet above the lake, to which the surface of the ground drops 
sharply. The view is one of the loveliest imaginable, reveal- 
ing the lake in its entirety, the island studded plain at our 
feet, the receding clusters of islands, the sinuous shores lead- 
ing away to the outlet, and over beyond it the lengthened 
reach of Eagle Lake, with a glimpse of Utowana and the 
verdant slopes that compass about the shores of the 
queenly Raquette. A path leads down through the thick 
forest to where a fleet of dainty Adirondack boats lie snugly in 
boat house or at rest on the sandy beach. Accommodations 
are provided for about 80 guests in the main building and ad- 
joining cottages. The fare is wholesome and abundant, 
cleanly and appetizing, the service kindly and willing from 
the proprietors down. Its altitude makes it a desirable 
place for those who suffer from hay-fever. A free carriage 
conveys guests to and from the Blue Mountain Lake House, 
to connect with the stage, and stages pass the house daily for 
Long Lake, eight miles distant. (For Long Lake see page 
113) Altogether, the Mountain House possesses more than 
the average number of favorable counts among Adirondack 
hotels. Rates here are $2 to $2.50 per day; $10 to $15 per 
week. Open from June ist to October 15 th. Telegraph 
office in the house. Merwin & Hall, proprietors. 

Mr. Merwin, the founder of the house, '' grew up with the 
country." He is pains-taking and obHging, and well liked by 
his guests. Mr. Hall, coming to this section for the benefit of 
his health, records his opinion in the most practical way by 
settling permanently, and brings an experience that must prove 
of value to the house. 

Fair View House is in the gathering village of Blue 
Mountain Lake, on the road that leads from the Lake House, 
around the shore, to the Prospect House. The Fair View is 
open all the year. A store connected with the hotel offers 
groceries and hunting, fishing and camp supplies, generally, to 



Blue Mountain Lake. 197 

the public. The steamboat lands here on regular trips up 
and down the lake. The proprietor, John Sault, was formerly 
landlord of the Indian River Hotel, where he catered very 
acceptably to the hunters' and fishermen of old. This house 
has an air of freshness and neatness about it that is captivating 
and suggestive of good fare and cleanness throughout. Price 
of board, $2 per day — $14 per week. 

The Prospect House, built in 1 881, is the most elegant, 
perhaps, of all the Adirondack hotels. It is, considering the 
section where it stands and the difficulty attending the work 
at the time of its erection, a marvel among hotels, and would 
rank as first-class with the famous hostelries of any watering- 
place in the country. It is imposing in outline and broad in 
detail in keeping with its grand surroundings. Within, like- 
wise, is preserved the suggestion of vastness — of space and 
breathing-room — which is very refreshing. Its interior finish 
is giUin, massive and substantial. Large fireplaces add a 
cheery comfort to the public office and parlors. The sleeping- 
rooms are large, furnished with the best of beds, heated with 
steam, and lighted throughout with the Edison incandescent 
light — this being the first hotel in the world to introduce elec- 
tric lights into its dormitories. An elevator renders all floors 
almost equally desirable, and the table is, to use a much mis- 
used word, first-class in all respects. In all departments, sys- 
tem and order prevail to a marked degree. 

Hunting and fishing, of course, claim a large place here, 
but those who are not sportsmen may find amusement in the 
billiard and bowling alleys, in tennis or croquet. Here may 
be found unlimited boating for the indolent, shady walks for 
the meditative, a great, breezy piazza, with secluded corners 
for the sentimental, good music on the piazza in the after- 
noon, and in the parlor through the evening. Mails arrive 
and depart twice daily, Sundays excepted. The telegraph 
office is in the house. The steamer touches at the dock on 
all trips. A fleet of light boats, larger and steadier than the 
ordinary Adirondack traveling boat, is a specialty of the 
house, and duly appreciated. 



198 The Adirondacks. 

The Prospect House will accommodate 500 guests. Price 
of board, $4 to $5 per day; $21 and upward per week; ser- 
vants half price. During the winter, guests are entertained 
in a larger cottage under the same management. George W. 
Tunnicliff, manager. 

A small boat of the Blue Mountain and Raquette Lake 
Steamboat line, the " Toowahloondah," of light draft, that 
it may pass easily through the shallow streams connecting 
the lakes, leaves the hotel docks morning and afternoon, 
and passing through this and Eagle and Utowana lakes and 
streams, connects at Marion River Gary with steamer for Ra- 
quette lake landings. The mere fact of going on the little 
steamer, with the vast and reverberatory name, is not all there 
is in this trip, although of itself a pleasure. The excursion is 
one of the most delightful ones of the wilderness, a source of 
continued surprise and enjoyment, introducing as it were, the 
traveler to the wild woods and lakes in the mildest manner 
possible, and giving him just a suggestion of the difficulties of 
portage between waters that he will find later on. The line 
belongs to W. W. Durant, ex-President of the Adirondack 
Railroad and owner of a number of townships around the 
lakes. It is thoroughly equipped and adapted to the particu- 
lar needs of the traffic, and while working on systematized 
lines with clock-like regularity, is not obtrusively formal and 
fits in admirably with its surrounding conditions. Extra boats 
are subject to charter and afi"ord interesting means of explor- 
ing the nooks and by-ways of lakes and tributary streams. J. 
G. Thompson, Superintendent. 

As we pass out into the open lake Blue Mountain rises in 
graceful outline behind us. On its western slope, high above 
the water, are the Mountain House and cottages ; nearer is 
Thatcher's Island, the property of Ex-Mayor Thatcher, of Al- 
bany, with the cottage at its east end. On the point project- 
ing from the south shore, near the outlet, is the attractive 
summer place of Golonel Duryea, of New York. 



Eagle Lake. 199 

Passing through the outlet With slackened speed, responding, 
perhaps, to the request of the Commodore to come out for- 
ward to get her stern up away from the bottom, and by aid of 
steam and pikepole we round the short bend, pass under the 
bridge, and out into the waters of Eagle Lake. 

Eagle Lake is about one mile long, with low wooded 
shores, except a clearing on the north side. The old log house 
standing near the shore is the '' Eagle's Nest," where Ned 
Buntline came years ago, and under the tree, near the house, 
lies the bride he brought and buried there. 

A somewhat longer stream than the one we have just 
passed out of, leads through drowned lands, from Eagle into 
Utowana Lake. This lake is about two miles long, narrow 
and straight, running away toward the west. Passing into its 
outlet we soon reach the landing, where we find the rustic 
waiting-room and the dam, which has raised the water, 
making navigable the streams between the lakes. From this 
landing a road leads to the head of navigation, on the Marion 
River, one mile distant. You have noticed, perhaps, that the 
steamer whistled some ways back, and as we approach, a one- 
horse wagon, with a rigging something like a hay-rack, makes 
its appearance. Into this the baggage is tumbled, the boats 
tied on (if any are there to be carried), and the weaker mem- 
bers of the party, or those wlio may prefer to ride, take their 
places. But few ^^ care to ride, for this carry is simply an 
excellent road through the woods, resembling in no respect 
the slippery carries of the back country. At its west end, we 
find another steamer, somewhat larger than the one we have 
just left but belonging to the some family, as you will con- 
clude from its jaw-breaking Indian name, which is considered 
the proper thing up here. 

The Marion River, from this point to Raquette Lake, is 
one of the crookedest rivers in the whole world, and, for some 
distance, taxes to its utmost the abihty of our pilot and the 
circling power of the little steamer. It flows sluggishly along 
its reedy shores, wandering back and forth between the low 
hills, in a succession of loops, that makes the way traversed, 



Raquette Lake. 201 

which is about two miles in a straight line, double that dis- 
tance before open water is reached. This is the largest feeder 
of the Raquette, and enters it through a gradually widening 
estuary, beyond which is seen the islands and the broad lake. 
How different now from the days when the Professor and I 
passed through in 1873 ! Then it boasted of but one resi- 
dent, and he a squatter. (There are squatters there now, but 
they come in state and are a credit to the section.) Now it 
is teeming with life. A fibre from the throbbing mass of 
travel has pierced these depths; the shrill whistle of the com- 
ing steamer calls forth a joyous crowd for their daily budget of 
news from the outer world, and comfortable hotels have sprung 
into sudden and thrifty existence to meet the requirements of 
the season. 

Raquette Lake Hotel, formerly known as " Under the 
Hemlocks," is seen on the north side of Long Point, which is 
on our left as we proceed west. Proprietors, Eugene & Fred- 
erick Finck. The former has been well and favorably known 
as room-clerk at the Prospect House, Blue Mountain Lake, 
and at tlie Indian Harbor Hotel (formerly the Morton House), 
at Greenwich, Long Island Sound. He is most affable and 
courteous, and has made a host of friends endeavoring to 
make the people happy with whom he has been officially con- 
nected. Modest withal, he has the requisite push to make the 
new enterprise a success, as the opening year proved beyond 
doubt. Mr. Frederick Finck is the well-known artist, who 
comes to benefit his health by a life in the woods, and of course 
is not above considerations of financial benefit (who is.-^) 
hence the combination. They have thoroughly renovated and 
refurnished the house and beautified the grounds, and propose 
building more cottages to increase the capacity of the colony 
to about 200 guests. It will now provide for about 100. In 
addition to the main building, are the cottages on either side, 
the one formerly occupied by Madam Gerster at the east, and 
the Cotterell cottage on the west. There is a spring of pure, 
never-failing water by the house. An unsuspected clearing 
back in the woods, now under a high state of cultivation, will 



202 The Adirondacks. 

supply fresh vegetables during the season. Open June 15th 
to November. Price of board, $3 per day, $15 to $25 per 
week, with special rates for September and October. Under 
its new management, this house has earned high praise, and is 
deserving only of words of approval. 

Competent guides for sportsmen and tourists are provided 
with camp suppHes. The steamboat stops daily for dinner, re- 
maining an hour and a half for that purpose. 

The open camp is a pleasant feature of the Adirondacks, 
— and the one here one of the finest of the kind. Here the 
logs, piled high and blazing at night, flood the interior with 
pleasant warmth and thaws the most crusty into genial friend- 
liness ; here gather the minister, the author, the playwright, 
the musician, and even the haughty broker, to melt and be- 
come better acquainted in an evening than by a four weeks' 
intercourse in a hotel parlor. 

The postoffice, known as Raquette Lake, is in a small build- 
ing north of the Gerster cottage. Two mails daily. The 
Western Union telegraph is here also. 

Unique and a pretty feature of this lake is the Island Church, 
(Episcopalian), standing on the smaller island south of Osprey 
Island. Here religious services are conducted regularly 
throughout the summer, the congregation coming by steamers 
and row-boats. The officiating clergyman occupies the rec- 
tory on the same island as the church during the season. 

*' The Antlers " is on Constable Point, in plain sight, al- 
most due west as the steamer leaves the mouth of the Marion 
River. The location is a delightful one, and commands an 
extensive view of the lake north and south, as well as into this 
deep bay, from which the approach is made. It is a hotel on 
the colonization plan — a collection of camp cottages, which 
may be rented at room rates, and a larger, central build- 
ing, containing the general office, dining-room, and pubHc^ 
rooms, the idea being a collection of camps in which guests 
shall have all the privacy of their own homes, relieved from 
the annoying but quite necessary details of the preparation of 
their daily food. This plan of separate buildings of one or 



Raquette Lake. 203 

two rooms each has proved a success here. It gives the tem- 
porary proprietor of each a sense of independence and own- 
ership that is very pleasant, resulting in each structure taking 
upon itself a degree of individuality and character according 
to the taste and disposition of its occupants, interesting to ob- 
serve. Provisions are also made to entertain transient guests 
here on the same general plan. Accommodations are offered 
for about 75. Rates during August, $3.50 per day, $17.50 to 
$25 per week. Special rates for the season. Boats, guides, 
camp supplies and fishing necessaries can be had here. Chas. 
H. Bennett, proprietor, P. O. address Raquette Lake. 

Mr. Bennett is genial, attentive and obliging, and during 
the short time that the '' Antlers " has been before the pubHc 
has made many friends and partisans of its guests. 

" Hathorn's Golden Beach," at the eastern extremity of 
South Bay, two miles from the landing at the postofiice, 
consist, of a log house, containing dining-room, kitchen, etc., 
log cottages of rustic finish, and several detached, bark-cov- 
ered, box-like sleeping-rooms, set up among the pines, along 
the line of beach, and open camps. Capacity — grand total — 
30 guests. Board, $2 per day, $10 per week. Open June ist 
to November. Chancey Hathorn, proprietor. Parties for 
Hathorn's leave the steamer at the postofhce dock and take 
row-boat to this point. 

Rush Point Camp, near South Inlet, kept by Joseph Whit- 
ney, accommodates 10. 

Blanchard's Wigwams, on Green Point, west of Camp 
Stott, C. W. Blanchard, proprietor, offers entertainment for 25 
guests. 

The rustic camps of Raquette Lake are elegant affairs, and 
although built of rustic material found ready to the hand, it is 
apparent that twisted cedar, shaggy spruce and silvery birch, 
in their native vestments, were not chosen because they cost 
nothing there. Some of these camps arc works of art, and 
filled with dainty bric-a-brac ; generally, however, pertaining 
to woodsy things, and in keeping with their native environ- 
ment. The pioneer camp of this section, and one of the 



204 The Adirondacks. 

most artistic in the woods, is "Camp Pine Knot," on South 
Bay. It was commenced in the winter of 1876-7, by its pres- 
ent owner, W. W. Durant, and completed — well, to tell the 
truth, these camps are iiever completed really, for one of the 
fascinating features of the camp is that it is bound by no rule 
of time or architecture. It expands and blossoms with the 
passing seasons, and is never exactly the same one year that it 
was the year before, but it is always finished enough for com- 
fort — it is " otetiwi." 

Echo Camp, on Long Point, west of the Raquette Lake 
House, tasteful and artistic, belongs to ex-Gov. Lounsbery, of 
Connecticut. " Camp Otetiwi," (always ready), belonging to 
Dr. A. G. Gersler, of New York, is on the large island west 
of Camp Pine Knot. " Camp Fair View," on Osprey Island, 
belonging to C. W. Durant, of New York, is an excellent speci- 
men of ornate rustic architecture. Deerhurst Camp, on Ken- 
well's Point, belongs to Mr. Wm. Strange, of Paterson, N. J.; 
the cottage standing on the north side of this point is that of 
Senator McCarthy of Syracuse. Senator Henderson has a 
a pleasant camp on the south side of Indian Point. " Camp 
Stott," the summer place of Com. Frank Stott, of Stottville, 
N. Y., is on the long point north of Kenwell's Point. A camp 
belonging to James Tenyck, of Albany, and '' Camp Has- 
brouck," are on the north shore near the outlet. 

Happy the favored visitor to one of these camps, and happy 
the owner. The fact cannot be disguised, say what you will, 
we are all children and enjoy playing house ; only, at sixty, we 
need a ten-thousand-dollar lodge in a vast wilderness, when at 
six, a piece of old carpet, stretched over a corner in the rail 
fence, satisfied all our earthly desires. 

There are several very pretty camps and cottages at differ- 
ent points for rent, notably, " Bright-side-on-Raquette," which 
is a nine-room cottage something like the McCarthy cottage, 
standing at the foot of " The Crags." on the south side of In_ 
dian Point. It is finished in native woods with a degree of 
elegance and artistic feeling equal to the best, is nicely fur- 
nished, and will be let for the season or for a term of years. 



Fulton Chain. 205 

The owner, J. O. A. Bryere, may be found here by any one 
who is interested in the matter, or may be addressed for par- 
ticulars at Raquette Lake. He is celebrated for his rustic 
work, and displays specimens that are marvels of skill. 

^i ^ ^ T^ ¥^ ^ ^ 

The Fulton Chain of Lakes is reached through the 
Brown Tract Inlet, which enters Raquette Lake from the 
southwest. This section is usually approached from the west 
via the Rome and Watertown Railroad, leaving it at either 
Boonville or Port Leyden. 

Moose River is i i miles from Port Leyden and 1 2 miles 
from Boonville. Daily stage from either place, $1. 

Moose River House is the regular dining place for 
travelers entering this gateway. It is on the western border 
of the great wilderness and affords good fishing and hunting 
for those who do not care to penetrate deeper. The house 
will accommodate about 30 guests. Rates, $2 per day, $7 
to $ro per week. C. M. Barret, proprietor. 

The Fulton Chain Railway is interesting as beginning 
and ending in the woods, and having no connection by rail 
with the outside world. It is a marvel in railroads and rolling 
stock, worth traveling a long distance to see, and somehow it 
seems more a part of the great wilderness than the conven- 
tional iron monster and steel tracks that one is accustomed to 
in the outer world. The track is of wood, 3 feet gauge, the 
locomotive a nondescript, but it gets there with the traveler, 
and none are found to wish it otherwise. The road was built 
especially to meet a long-felt need — a boon from Boonville — 
that a thumped and jolted public is not slow to appreciate, 
and for which thanks are due to G. W. P. Gould and Dr. A. 
H. Crosby of that section. It is 8 miles in length, extending 
from Moose River to " Minnehaha," foot of the Stillwater' 
from which point a steamboat runs to the Old Forge. Fare 
by rail and boat, $2. 

The Brown Tract, comprehending the land around the 
head of Moose River, was so called after a John Brown of 



2o6 The Adirondacks. 

Providence, Rhode Island (who must not be confounded with 
that other John Brown, the " Old Man of Ossawatamie,' who 
lies buried at North Elba.) The property was bought in 1793 
and a large forge built below the first of the Fulton Chain of 
Lakes. The manufacture of iron was attempted, and 30 to 40 
families gathered here at the time, but the venture proved a 
failure, and little besides the more substantial portions of the 
old forge remains now to mark the spot. 

The Forge House is at the old forge dam, below First 
Lake, and affords accommodation to 40 or 50 guests. Chas. 
M. Barrett, proprietor. P. O., Boonville. 

The Fulton Chain of Lakes are eight in number. The 
old forge dam, two miles below First Lake, floods back into 
the Fifth, giving uninterrupted navigation from the Forge 
House to this point. The First, Second and Third Lakes are 
closely connected and collectively three miles in length. The 
Fourth is nearly six miles long, and contains a number of 
pretty islands. A half mile stream connects Fourth with Fifth 
Lake, and a half mile carry leads into the Sixth ; a mile of 
rough boating or portage along the stream leads from Sixth 
into Seventh Lake, which is about two miles long ; thence by 
stream one mile, and portage along the stream another mile 
into Eighth Lake. This one is also about two miles in length. 
At its head a trail i^ miles long may be followed toward the 
northeast, leading into Brown Tract Inlet, which, followed 
downward four miles, brings the voyager to Raquette Lake. 
Total from the Forge House about 26 miles. 

The Steamer *' Fulton " runs two trips daily, leaving the 
head of Fourth Lake morning and afternoon. Fare $1. 

There are a number of nice private camps about the lower 
lakes and on Fourth Lake. The public houses are camps, 
so called, where entertainment can be had at from $1 to $1.50 
per day. The largest is Camp Holiday at the head of Fourth 
Lake affording accommodations for about fifty guests. 



Beaver Lake Country. 207-A 

Beaver Lake Country (which may be reached through 
the wilderness by the old Carthage road that passes west be- 
tween Raquette and Forked Lakes) is entered generally from 
the west via Lowville. Jay Ramsey, who may be found at 
Lowville, has comfortable road wagons built expressly for the 
work, and will convey parties of four or five to Fenton's for 
$6, or to Stillwater, ti miles further, for $12. To make sure 
of speedy and safe entrance it will be well to make arrange- 
ments for transportation in advance. 

The Fenton House stands on an elevation, overlooking 
Beaver Lake, 133 feet above the water. In addition to the 
main building are cottages suitable for famiHes, with an aggre- 
gate capacity for 150 guests. The proprietor promises "to 
show from one to five deer around the lake, within sight of the 
hotel, toward the close of any day in the early summer." The 
powerful "Beaver River Club," whose tramping ground this 
is, is opposed to " hounding." As a result, deer that have 
been driven from other sections by the dogs seek this quieter 
place; and the true sportsman never lacks for game worthy of 
his skill. Superior trout-fishing is also to be had in Beaver 
River ; and, in short, " Number Four," which is the post office 
address, offers a combination of excellent sport with reasona- 
ble ease of access. This house is open all the year. Rates, 
$2 per day, $9 to $10 per week. Charles Fenton, proprietor. 

Beaver Lake is about a mile in length. A smaller body 
of water, closely connected on the south, is called Beaver 
Pond. Crooked Lake may be reached by boat, i\ miles, and 
carry to the north if miles. Francis Lake is about one mile 
south, and is something over one mile in length. Beaver 
River is quite rough above Fenton's for 9 miles, above which 
is found good boating for twenty-five miles ; then alternate 
boating and carries for six miles brings us to Albany Lake. Al- 
bany Lake is four miles in length. Its main inlet, entering 
from the north, is two miles long, navigable most of the way, 
and brings the water of Smith's Lake. The latter is nearly 



207-B The Adiro^dacks. 

three miles in its longest diameter. A house here kept by 
James LaMont, furnishes accommodalions at $2 per day. 

The Carthage and Adirondack Railway extends from 
Carthage to Benson Mines, a distance of 43 miles. Lake 
Bonaparte, 1 7 miles from Carthage is of some note as a sum- 
mer fishing resort, with a comfortable hotel, and was first 
brought into notice as the retiring place of Joseph Bonaparte, 
the nephew of his uncle. Oswegatchie Station is 39 miles 
from Carthage. From this point it is six miles to Fine, where 
boats may be taken by prearrangement with guide, for Cran- 
berry Lake via the Oswegatchie River, Star Lake is 2 J 
miles south of Oswegatchie station, where a good hotel sup- 
plies necessary entertainment. Benson Mines is the terminus 
of the road. From this point a trail leads south to the head 
of the overflow of Cranberry Lake and another to the outlet. 

Cranberry Lake can be reached from Smith Lake 
through Bog and Mud Lakes, but don't do it. Originally this 
lake was about six miles in length but a dam built at its out- 
let increased its area considerably, and changed its shape. 
Its altitude is 1,540 feet. 

Cranberry Lake House stands near the outlet, and can 
provide entertainment for 50 guests. Rates $10.50 per week ; 
$2 per day. Mrs. E. J. Bishop, proprietor. P. O., Clarks- 
boro. Camp supplies and boats can be had here and guides 
secured by notice given in advance of arrival. Fine fishing is 
found on the river below the lake, and on the various brooks 
and ponds emptying into it. As good hunting, probably, as 
the Adirondacks afford, can be found at the south, at points 
easily reached. The '' all land" route to Cranberry Lake is 
from De Kalb Junction, but the stage service is uncertain, and 
it would be well before going to address Mrs. Bishop for par- 
ticulars. 

I wish you a pleasant journey and a safe return. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 
Outfits, Supplies, Guides, etc. 

'OR Camp Outfit and genera, woods life 
the following is recommended : A complete 
change of underclothing; two pairs of ser- 
viceable socks, but slightly heavier than you 
habitually wear at the season (soft wool is 
preferable) ; pair blue flannel shirts w^ith wide 
collars, confined at the throat by a substan- 
tial silk handkerchief. If the unaccustomed 
material chafes the neck, the shirts may be 
put on outside the garment ordinarily worn, 
in which case linen collars must not be forgotten. The 
pants and vest should be of some strong woolen goods, 
the coat the same, cut rather short and to button close 
up to the neck. Have pockets ample and numerous, 
with covers; you will find use for them. Wear a soft 
felt hat with a reasonably wide brim. By grasping it in 
a manner easily learned the rim forms a convenient drink- 
ing cup. Do not commit the too common error of pro- 
curing new shoes or boots for the occasion. A pair of 
laced shoes, roomy, but not too loose, well broken to the 
foot, with broad soles and rather low heels, is best. The 
uppers should be of rather fight grained kip or water- 
proof leather. Have leather or canvas leggings, strapped 
under the instep and buttoning, or to lace at the side well 
up toward the knee. Boots may be used in place of shoes 
and leggings, if preferred, but the evidence is largely in favor 
of the shoe. It is well to have a duplicate pair for alter- 
nates in wet weather. Rubber boots, althou^^h convenient 



Outfit. 209 

at times, are not suitable for general wear or for traveling. 
A light overcoat will be found very comfortable at times. 
Among the necessaries should be included rubber coat and 
overalls for use in rainy weather, for the best fishing is often 
found under dripping clouds. Have also a light rubber 
blanket to throw over the knees and feet when in boat, or 
to protect you, in sleeping, from moisture below or above. 
For sleeping or lounging in camp take a pair of common 
canvas slippers and sew on them cloth tops to come up 
around the ankle, and tie outside the pants. A light cloth 
cap will be found comfortable for night use. 

Ladies' Outfit contemplates a subject in which I would 
not presume to dictate ; I have learned better. I humbly 
submit, however, that it is your first duty to make yourself 
as attractive as possible, subject only to the requirements of 
place and season ; and I would suggest that, whatever may 
be allowable in the way of " fine " dressing, it is not consid- 
ered necessary, or even in good taste. Often the sweetest 
girls that ever brightened the wilderness with their presence 
reign queens of the evening in the same bewitching costume 
in which they boated and climbed mountains in the early 
morning. Consult some lady friend who has spent a season 
in the woods as to what constitutes a suitable outfit. In 
absence of such source of information the following is sug- 
gested for boat, camp and tramp : Underclothing, such as 
experience has shown best suited to the season and your 
individual comfort, giving fine flannel the preference in all 
but the very warmest of weather. Underskirts should gen- 
erally be of dark flannel, although, if much walking is done, 
one of dark cotton will be found an agreeable substitute. 
A becoming dress may be made of blue or gray flannel or 
ladies' cloth. It may be pleated back and front, gathered 
at the waist, or fitting loosely to the form, but should in any 
case allow perfect freedom in the use of the arms. The 
skirt should be not overfull, and cut a finger shorter than the 
ordinary walking 4ress; trim but little, in shades of same 



2IO The Adirondacks. 

color as body ; a cord at wrist, collar and waist-band, with 
a knot of ribbon or a wild flower at the throat, is sutiicient. 
A dainty bit of ruffling or old lace about the neck transforms 
the morning into an evening toilet. Wear a soft felt hat 
with wide brim ; trim with forest leaves. AVear a lady's hat, 
if they differ from men's — don't ape masculinity in dress; 
the average Adirondack sportsman does not admire it, 
although, if confronted by the horrid fact, he is too much 
of a gentleman to tell the truth. Wear dark, serviceable 
hose and substantial, roomy Balmoral boots, with broad 
soles and low, broad heels. Wear Lisle thread, cotton or 
doeskin gloves. They may be made with long wristlets to 
button or tie outside the dress sleeve, to guard against pos- 
sible attack of black fly or mosquito. A chatelaine belt and 
pocket, with tin drinking cup, etc., is convenient. A light 
sun umbrella of the walking-stick pattern is a comfort in 
rain or shine. A shawl will often be found acceptable of 
an evening following the warmest of days. Carry a rubber 
or waterproof circular with hood, a pair of light rubbers fc r 
the feet, and a piece of light rubber cloth to throw over the 
lap and feet if surprised in a boat by one of those fast-mov- 
ing Adirondack showers. In rough weather sit or lie low 
in the boat ; never, at such times, grasp the sides to support 
yourself. A skillful boatman will manage in safety one of 
those light Adirondack shells in the roughest of water, if 
allowed entire control of boat and load. Go fearlessly into 
the woods. It is stated on the highest authority that not a 
noxious plant or venomous serpent exists in the Adirondacks. 
Camp and Outfit. — A bark or bough camp will do in 
absence of anything better, but is nothing like as comfort- 
able or convenient as a tent. An "A" tent, seven by eight 
feet on the ground, affords comfortable sleeping room for 
four, and on occasion five or even six. A rope, passing 
through lengthwise at the top and out at the ends, takes the 
place of ridge pole, and may be fastened to convenient trees 
or over crotched sticks, cut the Droi)er height and tied to 



The Camp. 211 

stakes. The material should be of cotton, water and mil- 
dew-proof, and complete, need not weigh more than nine to 
twelve pounds. In making your bed of boughs, remember 
that solid wood, if fitted to the form, is as comfortable as a 
bed of down. Apply the fact by burrowing or hollowing 
out cavities to fit the projecting points of hip and shoulder. 
Cover the boughs with a rubber blanket, in addition to 
which each member of the party should have a pair of heavy 
woolen blankets. A small bag, to be filled with leaves or 
moss and used as a pillow, is an improvement on a pair of 
boots, but not all that nature desires; and at the risk of 
exciting ridicule — from idiots — I am free to recommend 
a small, well-filled feather pillow. It pays for itself in a 
single night's use. A few yards of mosquito netting drawn 
across the front of the tent after a good smudge is a luxury 
which declares a big diurnal dividend. For long, forced 
marches, a hammock made of cotton duck with a cover 
of the same, but somewhat shorter, buttoned over at each 
side, and forming a sort of pocket, is, with the addition of 
rubber blanket, bed and tent combined. A little ingenuity 
will suggest manner of arranging hoops over the face to 
cover with canvas or mosquito netting, as circumstances 
may require. 

The Camp. — In selecting a camping place during warm 
weather, choose an island or an exposed point free from 
underbrush where the wind will, to a great extent, free you 
from the mosquito and fly. In cool weather, it is needless 
to say, choose the thicket ; in either case, remember that a 
cold spring or brook and material for the camp-fire adds 
very much to your convenience. In pitching the tent, if 
on a side hill, dig a "A" shaped trench to lead running 
water on either side the tent; if on the level, ditch all around. 
A wall tent is better than the one already described, or if a 
long stay is anticpated, it pays to build log sides on which 
to mount the tent, and cover with a " fly " to insure certain 
protection from rain. A sheet-iron camp-stove C3ja be pro- 



212 The Adirondacks. 

cured of the dealers, or may be easily made to answer 
every purpose, if your stay in one place be long enough to 
warrant the trouble of transportation. 

A champagne basket, covered with waterproof cloth and 
provided with shoulder loops for carrying, makes an admira- 
ble pack basket. A rubber, or waterproof bag, or an ordinary 
two-bushel grain bag, with carrying loops of webbing, may be 
used for extra clothing, blankets, etc. Let your load rest 
well down on the back to carry. 

The Camp Kit may consist of a long-handled frying pan, 
a deep stew pan with cover, a nest of three or four covered 
tin pails, for water, tea, coffee, etc. ; pint tin cups, tin plates, 
a wire toaster of the gridiron pattern, a ladle or large iron 
spoon, table and teaspoons, knives and forks, and last but not 
least, soap, dish cloths and towels. 

Carry a pocket compass with you at all times — the best 
woodsmen are temporarily at fault. An ordinary lantern for 
camp use (for hunting Boudren's jack lamp is probably the 
best), candles, matches (a few wind and water-proof), towels, 
tooth brush, comb, pocket mirror, pins, needles and thread, a 
few extra buttons to match those worn, oil or tallow for your 
boots, stamped envelopes or postal cards (?), light hunting 
knife in sheath (?), light axe in sheath, and a supply of light 
reading of the convenient Franklin Square or Lakeside pat- 
tern. Take no large boxes with sharp corners, nor any article 
too heavy or unwieldy for one man to handle. Don't expect 
your guide to double carries habitually, rather reduce your 
baggage or get extra packmen for its transportation. 

Camp Supplies may be had from hotels generally, but 
many prefer to carry their own. Veterans need no advice ; 
but to the novice the following suggestions are made : 
First, cor>sult your cook book, see what is needed in the 
preparation of proposed dishes and provide accordingly. 
The following list contains the staple articles : Wheat, Gra- 
ham flour, corn, and oatmeal, beans, Boston, and soda 



Supplies. 213 

crackers, lemon biscuit, baking powder, self-raising flour, 
maple sugar, loaf sugar, tea, coffee, condensed milk, bottled 
horse-radish, mustard, vinegar (?), pepper and salt in boxes 
with perforated covers, dried fruit, canned fruit (?) and but- 
ter, packed in salt and inclosed in hermetically sealed cans, 
which can be anchored in spring holes or under cold run- 
ning water. Bacon is extremely nice when sweet, as is also 
T^ork, unpoetical but palatable, and on occasion taking 
place of butter and all the seasonings. Dried beef is an 
important item; "jerked venison," one of the best things 
imaginable to carry when setting out for a tramp ; ask your 
guide to show you how it is prepared. For relishes — 
shades of mighty trout and speckled beauties forgive us — 
take a box of smoked red herring. Bermuda onions fill an 
aching void which nothing else can equal. Canned beef, 
pork and beans, corn, tomatoes, condensed soup, etc., may 
be added. Fresh vegetables and potatoes can be had from 
the hotels. Carry no liquor ; if wet and cold, Jamaica 
ginger has all the heating properties of whisky; while 
strong, black coffee is a better stimulant, with none of the 
evil effects following. 

The Medicine Chest need not be extensive. It should, 
however, contain cathartic pills — a piece of Turkish rhu- 
barb is good ; cholera medicine of some kind ; a small 
bottle of collodion (composed of equal parts of alcohol and 
ether, with gun-cotton added to make it about the consist- 
ency of heavy varnish) ; applied to burns and small wounds, 
it forms an artificial skin, impervious alike to air and water ; 
ammonia, to allay irritation arising from bites of insects ; 
cold cream or glycerine, for chapped face or hands; court- 
plaster, seidlitz powders, ointment and adhesive plasters, 
lint and bandages, to use in case of emergency. To stop 
the flow of blood from wounds, bind on equal parts of flour 
and common salt ; for burns, apply wheat flour or collodion. 
Insect Preparation may be procured of the druggist, 
or compounded by yourself. The most convenient and 



214 The Adirondacks. 

effective, perhaps, as any, is composed of six parts of mutton 
tallow to one of oil of pennyroyal, with a little camphor added. 
In the proportion of two ounces of sweet oil and one of oil 
of tar is good. "A coating of the grease from ham rinds, well 
rubbed on, is the best yet known," says George K. Holmes, of 
Great Barrington, Mass. Annoint exposed portions of the 
person with either of the above, then stand back and mark 
the frenzy of the baffled punkey. 

Sporting Outfit. — Do not rely on what books tell you. 
If you know nothing about the subject place yourself under 
some one that does, and trust them until you can judge for 
yourself The most enticing of fancy flies in the hands of a 
greenhorn will not yield much sport — except to outsiders — and 
the grandest achievement in modern firearms requires some 
skill in using. If you have the requisite skill, carry a rifle ; if 
not, a fowling-piece is better. For general use there is per- 
haps no more convenient or serviceable arm to carry into 
camp than the "pocket" rifle, manufactured by the J. Ste- 
vens Arms and Tool Company of Chicopee Falls, Mass. A 
12 to 1 5-inch barrel, 32 calibre, is recommended. The weight 
is less than three pounds. A shot-gun barrel is also made to 
fit the same frame, so that either may be used at will. Are 
you artistic ? Carry a camera of the Kodak pattern or with 
small plate. A plate large enough to make a lantern slide 
yields a larger per-centage of comfort than any other size 
made. 

Guides receive $2.50 to $3 per day, furnishing boat and 
necessary cooking and table utensils. They cook and do 
other necessary camp work, and row and " back " the boat 
over the carries, where there are no other means provided; (in 
cases where horses are used the employer is expected to pay 
for transportation.) One guide and boat is ordinarily suffi- 
cient for two persons, but for independence in fishing and 
hunting each sportsman should have his individual guide. 
There are two classes, known respectively as " ho- 
tel" and "independent." The former are engaged for 
the season by hotel proprietors, who relet them to par- 



Guides. 215 

ties ; the latter must be dealt with personally. There are 
equally good men in both classes, as the nature of the sur- 
roundings usually determines to which they shall belong ; 
therefore it is impossible to give rules for the selection of a 
guide, or to discriminate between them, as only experience 
can determine their suitability for your peculiar wants. As 
a class they are a noble set of men, who, aside from the 
natural deference due the employer from the employed, ad- 
mit of no inequality, and reflect back their usage ; although 
there are exceptions to the rule in man as in master. If 
only reasonable service is asked, there can usually be no 
complaint ; if fawning servility is expected, there is a rea- 
sonable doubt as to the result, for one who knows enough 
for the profession knows when he is well used. The best 
guides are often engaged for a year in advance, and some 
would as soon think of going without a gun as without their 
favorite guide. Some parties have attempted to do the 
Adirondacks by aid of map, compass and book, and with- 
out the aid of a regular guide ; this, however, is full of hard- 
sliips that are easily avoided by those accustomed to the 
country, and, if comfort, distance and time lost in out-of- 
the-way places are taken into consideration, attended with 
but httle economy. 

• Lists of guides heretofore published are now omitted, as 
the title is no longer an indication of fitness for the position. 
The office is one of responsibility and it is due to those who 
are competent and honest that a distinction should be made 
between them and others who claim the title without possess- 
ing the necessary (qualifications. The safety and comfort 
of the traveler depends largely on his guide, and some guar- 
antee should be furnished by the one employed. A guides' 
union could provide for this, or certificates might be granted 
by competent authority, but until some such provision can 
be made both the i^ublic and the Drofession must suffer. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

Trout Fishing. 

N the year 1880, it seems hardly necessary, in 
speaking of trout and trout fishing, to say that 
speckled or brook trout — the sabno fojiti- 
nalis of our early years, now, by authority 
of the Smithsonian Institute, savelinus fontu 
nalis — has a square tail, and that his sides are 
speckled with yellow and red spots, and that 
he is a cousin of the lake or salmon trout, 
which has a forked tail with mottled sides, and 
which the Smithsonian Institute insists shall be called cristiro- 
mer namaycush j for the love of angling has so grown during 
the last few years that it is not now considered a proper 
definition of fishing to say, it consists of " a stick with a string 
at one end and a fool at the other." On the contrary, those 
whose love of this sport will draw them to the brook side, 
or to the lake or pond, are men of all profession and occu- 
pation, and any one of them will tell you, if you ask him, 
that it requires skill and a knowledge of the habits of the 
trout to fill your creel. I doubt if the book was ever writ- 
ten that will make one a finished angler. To be sure one 
may gain something sometime from the written experience 
of others, but experience gained by time and patience on 
the stream is far better than any teacher. There are some 
general hints that will apply to the Adirondacks, but if it 
were attempted to enumerate all conditions for all times, 
half the anglers would say I found it so; the other half 
would say, /did not. 

When the ice has gone from the streams and ponds, and 
the sun has warmed the waters a trifle, brook trout will be 



Trout Fishing. 

found in the deep water and holes of the brooks, and it is 
hard work to get them to rise at a fly. They probably 
know ihat flie^ are out of season at this time. If the fish- 
ing fever is on, you must take a plebian worm and let it lay 
on the bottom until it is sucked in by some lazy trout, then 
" yank." A little later, when the snow water is a thing of 
the past, and the fruit trees are in bloom, and the black fly 
and the May fly are out to devour and be devoured, and 
the lazy trout, by exercise on the riffs and in rough water, 
has become an athlete, then take your rod, attach the patri- 
cian fly, and cast ever so gently at the head of the riffs, 
where a stone makes a little eddy, working down gradually 
to the pool at the foot of the rapids, where tke heads of the 
family " receive," if they have not already anticipated your 
visit by going up the riffs like a quarter-horse, and taken 
your fly with a leap that shows you what you have to con- 
tend with. As the weather grows warmer they will drop 
back to the deep shady holes, invigorated and fattened by 
their visit to the graveled-bottom rapids. It may be that 
you will now be obliged to advance backward to the worm 
(it will not be sucked in now, and you will not be in doubt 
as to whether you have a bite or no), or to a live chub or 
shiner, or the tail of either, that when it is let down into the 
hole with the current and drawn up stream, it will whirl like a 
thing of life ; I say you may be obliged to resort to this, for 
there are holes in streams where it would be folly to attempt 
to cast a fly. If a person wishes to pass them by because 
they never fish with other than a fly, some one not so fas- 
tidious may come after and bring to basket some of the 
oldest inhabitants of the brook. Should you fish one day 
and find that the trout are all seeking the seclusion which 
the deep hole grants to themselves, their sisters and their 
cousins and their aunts (I wiU pay my fine to any authorized 
person), and the evening, night or next day brings a shower 
to slightly raise the brook, as soon as the shower is over try- 
it again, but fish the rapids, for the trout have come out to 



The Adirondacks. 

see what the flood has brought for them to feast upon 
A Httle later the deep holes get warm by reason of Iom 
water and continued hot weather. The trout have their 
resorts at this season as well as the angler, and so they take 
their families and travel to some portion of the stream 
where a cold spring comes in, or some spring bubbles up 
from the bottom. At these " spring holes " they will be 
found in hot weather in great numbers, if the game law has 
been observed. 

As to flies, most people have their own ideas ; but as this 
is written for those who have just joined the brotherhood, it 
may be well to say that out of the countless number of flies, 
some of them unlike any thing under the sun, the red, black, 
brown and gray hackles,* tied both as a hackle and palmer 
fashion, Coachman,* yellow professor,* hght and dark fox,* 
black gnat, Romeyn Abbey, Seth Green, White Miller, 
Grizzley King,* and Queen of the Water,* constitute u 
good supply if one takes a half dozen of each. Even this 
number is considered by some too many. My fly books con- 
tain more than two gross of flies, but many kinds have never 
been used, and in all probabilities never will be. I think I 
am sife in saying that the largest trout are caught at dusk or 
during starlight or moonlight nights; if I am too broad in 
making this assertion I will modify it by saying large trout 
may be caught at this time by using a white miller, or a fly in 
which v/hite predominates; and, too, you must use a larger 
hook than the one you used during the day. If you have 
noticed a large trout in the stream during the day, and been 
unable to catch him, try him at night, if it is bright, and you 
may be reasonably sure of his rising to your light colored 
fly. Sometimes you may catch an obstinate fellow by going 
above his resting place and slightly roiling the stream, and 
as the muddy water passes over, let your fl»y float as naturally 



* Those indicated by a star are important, and should be in every collection. 



Trout Fishing. 

as possible with it, and the chances are in favor of your gc. 
ting the trout. He probably knows that roily water means 
a freshet, and a freshet brings with it insects upon which he 
feeds. The latter portion of May and the month of June 
are considered the best portions of the open season for fish- 
ing in the Adirondacks, and morning and evening the best 
portion of the day, as the trout are then seeking their natural 
food; but the ways of the trout are past finding out, for 
there are times when they will bite at nothing. 

Although bait fishing is not to be sneered at, use a fly if 
possible ; you will have more satisfaction with half a basket 
caught in this way than with a full one taken with bait. If, 
however, you must use bait, take your angle or earth worm 
after he is scoured in damp moss, and pass your hook 
through the neck half an inch from the head, then gathering 
up a loop of the body and pass through again and again 
until you have the shank, as well as the beard of the hook, 
well covered and half an inch of " worm " over, should 
your worm-loop, or head, or tail be taken of and the fish 
not taken in, put on a fresh bait. Unless you have some 
decided objection fish doivn stream. If you use live bait, 
(minnows) pass your hook through its back under the dor- 
sal fin, but not so low as to break the back bone ; should 
you use a portion of a minnow, cut off the tail just at the dor- 
sal fin ; put your hook in at the tail, and along the back 
bone, until the point of the hook nearly reaches the place 
cut ; your bait will then be curved to correspond with the 
bend of your hook, and will whirl nicely when drawn 
against the current. 

As to direction for fly fishing, I give it up. The best way 
is to go out with some one who uses a fly, and, in one day, 
you will learn more than from written directions studied 
faithfully for a month. There are many flies besides those 
mentioned above, should the angler desire a more extensive 
stock in his book. It may be well to mention a few, such 
as Gray Drake, Silver Black, Adirondack, General Hooker, 



The Adirondacks. 

Scarlet Ibis, Shoemaker, Jungle Cock, Oak Fly, Brown 
Hen, Hoskins, King of the Water, Green Drake, Montreal, 
Moose, etc. As to tackle get a split bamboo, hornbeam 
or ash and lance wood rod of three joints, about eleven feet 
long, weighing eight to ten ounces. This with an extra tip 
or tips, one a little shorter than the others, will answer for 
both bait and fly, unless you propose to "■ yank " your fish, 
in which case you need heavier timber ; a click reel to hold 
forty yards of braided silk, tapered line waterproofed, a 
half-dozen leaders or casting lines nine feet long, of best 
round silkworm gut, and smaller hooks or flies tied upon 
O'Shaunesey or Sproat bend hooks, with a landing net of 
coarse mesh, will constitute an outfit for brook trout in the 
Adirondacks. It is poor economy to buy poor tackle ; if 
you get any get the best, even if you get less. 

The lake or salmon trout, alt'ough he will take a fly at 
times, is usually caught by trolling. The modus operaiidi is 
as follows : With a stiffish trolling rod, a balance multiplying 
reel to hold loo yards of braided silk, or linen line No. 4, 
leaders 12 feet long of single gut, and a minnow gang, which 
is made by tying 6, 9 or 12 hooks in groups of three to a 
length of single gut with a single hook about one and a half 
inches above the upper group of hooks for a lip hook, a 
gaff hook, and a pail of minnows completing the outfit. I 
am too fast ; you also require two or three pounds of lead. 
Lake trout fishing is in order as soon as the ice leaves the 
lakes, but at this time the trout are at the bottom, so put 
your rod together, put on your reel, pass your line through 
the standing guides of your rod, attach your leader and 
minnow gang, put the lip hook through both lips of the live 
bait, bend the bait and put one of the group hooks through 
the back of the bait behind the back fin in such a manner 
as to make it revolve when drawn slowly through the water, 
ten or twelve feet from the joining of your casting line or 
leader and your fish line, tie on your sinker with a piece of 
line 6 or 8 feet long, wca!cpr than your fish line, so if you 



Trout Fishing. 

catch on the bottom you will lose only your sinker. Your 
sinker must be heavy enough to carry your line nearly to the 
bottom. You can fish by letting your sinker strike bottom 
and pulhng in only to let your sinker strike again, but you 
need to know the kind of bottom upon which you are fish- 
ing, as grass would soon use up your lead. This kind of 
fishing can be better shown than taught by writing, and as 
it is not necessary we will pass it. About the first of May 
the trout begin to rise to the surface, and the higher up 
they are the less sinker you require. Soon they are at the 
surface to stay only for a few days. Now you require only 
enough sinker to keep your bait well under water, or even 
no sinker at all, for wherever the trout are, bottom or top, 
the boat must be rowed very slowly. 

Buoy fishing is done by anchoring a block of wood, as a 
land-mark, or water-mark, in some deep portion of the lake. 
Morning and evening, for two or three days, bait your buoy 
by throwing overboard bits of fish cut up about the size of 
a butternut ; this will sometimes attract the fish and keep 
them around the buoy. When you think it baited, put on 
your hook a piece of fish like that you have used, or a Uve 
minnow, and drop it over, and keep your bait moving up 
and down by a shght motion of your hand, until the sun 
gets too hot, or your seat gets too hard, or you make up 
your mind that there are better ways of fishing. If this 
last happens, stick to it, and let some one else jig their line 
in loo or 125 feet of water, with the result: "Oh, a 
trout just breathed on the bait, but that was all !" Buoy 
fishing is not practiced now nearly as much as in former 
years, but trout are yet caught in this manner. The open 
season is from April ist to October ist, brook trout, April 
I St to September ist. I have of necessity omitted much 
that might be said about trout fishing, and perhaps written 
what could as well be omitted; but will say in conclusion, 
let the " sign " be in the head or in the feet, the next time 
you try them, may your baskets be filled with fair-sized 
trout, but leave the little ones in the water to grow. 

A. N. Cheney. 



Game Laws. 

The open season for game found in the Adirondacks is by law 
as follows : Ruffled grouse, commonlv called partridge, from 
September ist to January ist; wild fowl, September ist to May 
ist; woodcock, August ist to January ist; hares or rabbits, 
November ist to February ist; squirrels (black or gray) August 
ist to January ist; deer from August 15th to November ist 
Deer may be hunted with dogs (except in St. Lawrence County) 
from September ist to October 20th. No person shall kill more 
than three deer in one year. No deer or venison shall be trans- 
ported from the Adirondacks by any person or common carrier, 
except from the 1 5th of August to the 1 5th of November, and 
between such dates but one deer or carcass can be transported 
for each owner, and it must be accompanied by the owner. No 
fawn shall be killed at any time. The penalty for the violation 
of any of the provisions of the deer law is $100. 

The open season for brook trout, California and brown trout 
in the counties constituting the forest preserve is from May ist 
to September 1 5th; lake trout and land-locked salmon from May 
ist to October ist. Elsewhere in the State the brook trout 
season opens April ist and closes September ist, and in Lake 
George, lake trout can only be. taken from May ist to October 
1st. No trout or salmon can be transported from the Adiron- 
dacks except when accompanied by their owner. 

Black bass can be caught in Lake George and Brant Lake 
only from August ist to January ist; in Schroon Lake and 
River, Paradox and Friends Lakes only from July 15 to Janu- 
ary ist; elsewhere in the Adirondacks from May 3010 January 
ist. Black bass under eight inches in length or one-half pound 
in weight must be returned to the water uninjured. 

No one is permitted to deposit any fish in the waters of th« 

Adirondack region unless the fish so deposited are indigenous 

to the particular water where placed, except that non-preying or 

non-destructive fish which constitute food for fish of the salmon 

family may be deposited. 

A. N. Cheney. 



Where and Where Not to Fish. 

In 1882 Mr. Fred Mather, the well known fish culturist, ex- 
plored a great portion of what is known as Adirondack 
waters for the purpose of making an ichthyological report 
to accompany the report of the Adirondack survey. Mr. 
Mather's researches have only recently been given to the pub- 
lic, and no part of them will prove of more interest to the sum- 
mer visitor to the great wilderness than that relating to the dis- 
tribution of the fishes known to the anglers as the "game 
fishes ;" such as are captured by rod and line. For the names of 
the lakes, ponds and streams that are used in the report, 
he relied upon Stoddard's map of the Adirondack wilder- 
ness. Mr. Mather supplemented his summer's work of per- 
sonal exploration and examination by reports from guides and 
others regarding waters that he had not the time to visit. So 
that his report, so far as it goes, is reasonably correct and 
trustworthy. 

Brook trout are not found in the following waters : Metcal, 
and T Lakes, tributaries of West Canada Creek, Spectacle, Dex- 
ter, Spy, Oxbow, Metcalf, Coal, Scuts, Willis, Murphy, Warner, 
Remson and Bug Lakes. All others are supposed to contain 
them. 

Lake trout, commonly called salmon trout, are not found in 
the following waters : None of the lakes of West Canada Creek 
except Spruce, Indian, Ferris, Christian, Morehouse, Jersey- 
field, Goodluck, Oxbow, Metcalf, Sheriff, Canada, Coal, Willis, 
Nicks, Little Woodhull, Stone Dam, Wilmurt and the Eagle 
Chain of Lakes. By implication the other lakes in the Adiron- 
dacks do contain lake trout. 

Black bass are found in Raquette, Forked, White, Fourth, 
Bisby, Sucker, the Blue Mountain Chain and the Fulton Chain 
of Lakes, Moose and Black Rivers. 

The Rainbow (California) trout have been placed in Fulton 
Chain, Bisby, Woodhull, Pleasant, Round, Horn, and Jones 
Lakes, Moose, Oswegatchie and Black Rivers, and Silver Lake. 

Land-locked salmon have been planted in Woodhull, Mud 
Sa^d. Little Moose and the Fulton Chain of Lakes, 



Forest Commission. 

The Forest Commission, having charge of the forest preserve 
was created by Chapter 283 of the laws of 1885. The commis- 
sioners now in office are Theodore B. Basselin, Townsend Cox, 
and Sherman W. Knevals. 

The warde» is S. F Garmon. It is a responsible office well 
filled, for upon his efficiency rests largely the question of suc- 
cess or failure in what is yet but little more than an experiment. 
The result so far has shown to a remarkable degree the neces- 
sity of such a commission, and such an officer, as the one item 
alone of trees which the honest but giddy lumberman cut an- 
nually by mistake on land belonging to the State, amounts to 
thousands of dollars. 

The lands constituting the forest preserve are the lands now 
owned, or which may hereafter be acquired, by the State of New 
York within the counties of Clinton (excepting the towns of 
Altona and Dannemora) Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, 
Herkimer, Lewis, Saratoga, St. Lawrence, Warren, Washington, 
Greene, Ulster and Sullivan ; " and the forest preserve shall be 
forever kept as wild forest lands." 

The Forest Commission has power to appoint a forest warden, 
forest inspectors, guards and fire wardens. The forest warden, 
forest inspectors, foresters and other persons acting upon the 
forest preserve under the written employment of the forest 
warden, or of the Forest Commission, may, without warrant, 
arrest any person found upon the forest preserve violating any 
provisions of the act creating the commission. 

It also has the same power to bring action for trespass and to 
recover damages for injury, or to prevent injury to the preserve 
which any owner of lands would be entitled to bring. 

The fire wardens have power to call upon any person in the 
territory in which they act for assistance in suppressing fires, 
and every person refusing to act when so called shall be liable 
to a fine of not less than five nor more than twenty dollars. 

Any person who shall wilfully or negligently set fire to any 
forest lands belonging to the State, shall be liable to a fine of 
not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, or to im- 
prisonment of not less than thirty days nor more than six months 

* Also Oneida County. 



Routes to Gateways. 'a 

HOW TO REACH THE ADIRONDACKS is naturally the 
first question asked, and to be answered here. The object of this 
chapter is to. get the traveller past all this from the great city to the 
grand old wilderness. 

The Hudson River Railroad carries the larger proportion of the 
people who go up out of Gotham to the lakes and mountains at the 
north. Without ostentation, it provides its patrons with the best of 
service at the minimum of cost. 

Special fast trains leave the Grand Central Station for Saratoga 
and Lake George during the season, one leaving at about 9:00 A. m., 
reaching the points mentioned early in the afternoon. Another, at 
about 3:30 P. M., reaches Saratoga at 9 o'clock, and on Saturday 
night runs to Lake George, returning on Sunday evening. A train 
leaving at 7:30 p. m., with through sleepers attached, connects early 
in the morning at North Creek with stages for Blue Mountain Lake ; 
at Westport with stages for Elizabethtown and Lake Placid ; at Port 
Kent for Au Sable Chasm, and at Plattsburgh with trains for Au Sa- 
ble Station and Saranac Lake. 

The West Shore Railroad is called the " Picturesque Route." 
During the season of summer travel, trains, with drawing-room cars 
attached, run through from Washington, Philadelphia, and Long 
Branch, to the Catskill Mountains, Lake George, and thie Adiron- 
dacks, without change. Passengers and baggage are taken from the 
foot of Fulton Street, Brooklyn, and from jay and 426. Streets, New 
York. 

The Day Boats are the " New York" and " Albany " — new and 
splendid specimens of shipcraft, with iron hulls 300 feet in length, 
accommodating 1,800 passengers, and claimed to be the fastest steam- 
boats in the world. They were built exclusively for carrying passen- 
gers. The spacious cabins are finished in highly polished woods, 
are furnished luxuriously, and adorned with statuary and paintings. 
The dining-rooms are on the main deck, where the traveler can en- 
joy an excellent dinner, which is served on the European plan, and 
lose nothing of the view of this most charming of American rivers. 
They leave New York and Albany at about 8:30 A. M., touching at 
the principal landings on their way, meet near Poughkeepsie, and ar- 
rive at their destinations at about 6 P. m. A pleasant feature is an 
orchestra on each steamer. During the season, fast trains run to and 
from Saratoga to connect with these boats, and on Saturday night 
run through to Lake George. Fare, $2. F. B. Hibbard, G. T. A., 
Desbrosses Street Pier, New York. 

The People's Line Steamers, " Drew" and " Dean Richmond," 
form the night line, between Albany and New York. They have few, 
if any, equals in size, equipment, or accommodations, combining all 
the conveniences of a first-class hotel, and well deserving the name, 
so often bestowed, of floating palaces. Meals are served on the Eu- 
ropean plan. M. B, Waters, General Passenger Agent, Albany, N. Y, 

The Citizens' Line Steamers, " Saratoga" and "City of Troy," 
are also fine specimens among this distinctive class of river boats. 
They are of light draft, and fitted up with a view to speed in 
traveling. The state rooms are commodious, heated by steam 
in cold weather, and are complete in all their appointments. 
Meals are served on the European plan, in a style equal to 



Routes to Gateways. 

the best of hotels. Free transportation carriages between the depot 
and steamboat landing at Troy attend evening trains and baggage is 
transported free. Geo. W. Gibson, G. P. A., Troy. 

It is advisable to secure rooms in advance by cither of these lines 
during the height of the season, which may be done by telegraphing 
their respective passenger agents at Albany or Troy, or on applica- 
tion to the offices at the terminus of the lines. 

The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, by its absorption of 
the Albany & Susquehanna, the Rensselaer & Saratoga and the New 
York & Canada Railroads, has become one of the most important 
carriers of summer travel in the country, and is using its great re- 
sources most energetically and effectively for the development of 
that part of New York, including Saratoga, Lake George and the 
Adirondack Wilderness, with which it is the chief channel of com- 
munication. During the season of pleasure travel extra fast trains 
are run from Albany and Troy to Saratoga, Lake George, Platts- 
burgh and Montreal. The appointments of the road are all that can 
be desired, the cars being specially fitted for pleasure travel, and so 
comfortable that drawing-room cars are not so much a necessity as 
they may be considered on some roads. 

Southern connections are made at Troy with Hudson River 
railroad and Citizens' line steamers for New York, and with the 
Troy and Boston railroad for the east. At Albany with H. R. and 
West Shore roads, and day and night boats for New York ; with 
Albany and Susquehanna railroad for Howe's Cave (39 miles), 
Sharon Spings (58 miles), Cooperstown, on the beautiful Otsego 
Lake (91 miles), and to Binghampton (142 miles), and with New 
York Central railroad for points west. 

Northern connections (with fare from Albany). — At Mechanics- 
ville f6o cts.) with Hoosac Tunnel route for Boston ; at Saratoga 
($1.17) with Adirondack railroad for Luzerne, Schroon Lake and Blue 
Mountain Lake (see Gateway No. 7) ; at Caldwell ($2.58) with steamer 
on Lake George (Gateway No. 6) ; at Whitehall ($2.34) with trains 
from Rutland and the east ; at Ticonderoga ($3-00) with branch 
road to foot of Lake George; at Crown Point ($3.30) with C. P. L 
Co. s railway (see Gateway No. 4) ; at Westport ($3.84) with stages 
for Elizabethtown, Keene Valley and Lake Placid (Gateway No. 3) ; 
at Port Kent ($465) with stages for Au Sable Chasm and Keeseville 
(Gateway No. 2) ; at Plattsburgh (I5.04) with Ausable Branch and 
Chateaugay railroads (Gateway No. i) for the Saranac, St. Regis 
and Chateaugay Lakes, and at Rouses Point ($5-75) with Central 
Vermont railroad for the east, and the Ogdensburg and Lake 
Champlain road to points west. 

From Whitehall north to Port Henry the route is substantially the 
same as described on pages 17 to 23; then the road bears away 
until Westport station is passed nearly a mile inland, after which it 
crosses and follows down the valley of the Boquet, passing along 
nearly two miles distant from Essex, situated on the lake shore. As 
the head of Willsborough Bay is neared, it rises gradually to more 
than a hundred feet above the water at times on some shelf cut in the 
sloping wall ; then over solid arches of stone spanning a mountain 
torrent ; anon plunging through deep cuts, and at one point diving 
into the inky darkness of the tunnel ; then out along the beetling 
cliffs, while below the deep waters dash against the perpendicular 
walls, and upward a hundred feet the red rock rising, slopes away to 
the mountain height above. 



227 

In the following pages may be found matters of general in- 
terest ; and presumably reliable, for here those who are inter- 
ested speak for themselves. 



ADIRONDACK HOTELS.— Augur Lake, page 237 ; 
Beaver Lake, 245 ; Big Clear Pond, 261 ; Bloomingdale, 241 ; 
Blue Mountain Lake, 253, 254; Bluff Point, 238; Cascade 
Lakes, 257 ; Chateaugay Lake, 241 ; Chestertown, 253 ; 
Childwold Park, 246; Clear Lake, 250; Clear Pond (Big), 
245; Cranberry Lake, 245; Crown Point, 252; Elizabeth- 
town, 236, 237; French's, Franklin Falls, 245; Indian Lake, 
247 ; Keene Valley, 248, 249 ; Lake Placid, 245, 247 ; Long 
Lake, 257; Lake Pleasant, 253; Luzerne, 251; North 
Creek, 253 ; North River, 253 ; Peasleville, 239 ; Platts- 
burgh, 237; Pottsville, 251 ; Rainbow Lake, 241 ; Raquette 
Falls, 257; Raquette Lake, 256; Raquette River, (Tromb- 
lee's), 245 ; Rouse's Point, 237 ; Saranac Lake, (lower), 242, 
243 ; (upper), 244; Schroon Lake, 252; Stony Creek Ponds, 
245; Tupper Lake, 246; Vergennes, 235 ; Westport, 235. 

LAKE GEORGE HOTELS.— Caldwell's, 230; West 
Shore, 232; Narrows, 232, 233. SARATOGA, 258. 

RAILROADS.— Chateaugay, 240; Delaware & Hud- 
son, 229 ; N. Y. C. & H. R., 228. 

STAGES. — Blue Mountain Lake, 239 ; Elizabethtown 
and Lake Placid, 236; Riverside and Schroon Lake, 251. 

LIVERY. — Lowville, 245 ; Saranac Lake, 241. 

STEAMBOATS.— Blue Mountain and Raquette Lake, 
255; Lake Champlain and Lake George, 234; Hudson 
River, 258. 

MISCELLANEOUS.— Books, Maps and Photographs, 
263, 264, 265, 266; Cottage Sites, (Long Lake), 257; Photo- 
grapher, 249; Photographic Dry Plates, 258; Photographic 
Cameras, etc., 259, 260, 261; Photographic Publication, 263 ; 
Sporting Guns, 262. 



228 



PASSENGER KATES FROM IWMK 



iZIK 



)<gW ^ork (;Gnfral 



& 



^udsot\ I^iOer l^ailroad 



AND CONNECTING LINES. 



Note, — Excursion Tickets are issued by the New York Central & 
Hudson River Railroad at prices given in the column of figures 
under ''And Return.'' Other figures will be found correct in the 
main, although Through Tickets are not issued to all places named. 
For further information apply to George H, Daniels, General 
Passenger Agent, Grand Central Station, New Vork, 



And 

TO Return 

Albany $3-io S^-oo 

A u Sable Chasm 15.00 

Au Sable Station 8.60 15.85 

Blue Mountain Lake. ... 8.95 17.00 

Baldwin 6.70 

Caldwell* 5.55 10.25 

De Kalb Junction 8.61 

Elizabethtown 7.80 14.50 

Forked Lake 10. 6g 1900 

Fort Ticonderoga 5.95 

Glens Falls 4.80 8.65 

Gouverneur 8.21 

Lake Placid : 

via Plattsburgh & Cha- 

teaugay R. R. . . .'. 11.60 22.50 

Lake George* 5.55 10.25 

Through and return via 

Ticonderoga 13.15 

Loon Lake 10.90 20.30 

Lake Luzerne,(Hadley).. 4.86 8.80 

* During the season a Special Excursion Ticket is issued for. 
good on Saturday to Caldwell, and return following night. 



TO 

Malone $9 . 90 

Montreal 10.00 

via Lake George 12.00 

North Creek 5.94 

Northville 498 

Paul Smith's 12.00 

Plattsburgh 8.00 

Port Kent 7.60 

Potsdam g.21 

Raquette Lake 10.20 

Riverside. .. 5.70 

Rome 5.30 

Rouse's Point 8.70 

Saratoga 4.20 

Saranac Inn 12 85 

ti.35 
7-45 
3-15 
6.81 



And 
Keturu 



Saranac Lake (lower) . 

Schroon Lake 

Troy 

Westport 



18.25 

20.25 
11.00 

21.25 

14.75 



18.75 

10.50 



7-50 
23-25 

21.15 

14.00 

12.45 

$8.50, 



■iSTH 




■1^ 



(t 



iiw i iiiiii 

BAILBOAD 



TO THE 



ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS, 

MONTR^AU QU^D^a 

Lake George, Lake Champlain, Au Sable Chasm, 

Saratoga, Round Lake, Howe's Cave, Sharon 

Springs, Cooperstown and the 

CELEBRATED GRAVITY RAILROAD, between 
Carbondale and Honesdale, Pa., 

67 miles shorter than any other line, between New York, Albany 

or Troy to the St. Regis Lakes. 

ONLY AN HOUR'S STAGE RIDE TO LAKE PLACID. 

The completion of the Chateaugay R. R. from Plattsburgh to 
Saranac Lake, opens up the very heart of the Adirondack Moun- 
tains to direct Rail Communication. 

Low Price Excursion Tickets 

To all the famous Adirondack, Lake George and Lake Champlain 
resorts are on sale at the Company's offices, Albany, Troy a^id 
Saratoga, during the season of pleasure travel. 

Descriptive Guide, Hotel Lists, etc., sent upon receipt of 6 cents 
in stamps. 

J. W. BURDICK, 

H. C. YOUNC, GENERAL PASSENGER AGENT, 

2D VICE-PRESIDENT. ALBANY, N. Y. 



FORT WILLIAM HENRY HOTEL, 



T. E. ROESSLE, PROPRIETOR. 



HIS Hotel, which is the only "Great Hotel" at 
^ Lake George, is one of the largest and best ap- 
pointed summer houses in the world. Its lake 
frontage is three hundred and thirty-four feet, along 
which runs the finest and broadest veranda on the con- 
tinent. Its grounds are spacious and elegant. The 
furniture and all the appurtenances are of the best, a 
fast running elevator, a first-class band of music, and 
every other convenience and luxury which the choice or 
taste of guests may demand, are provided. The owner 
is familiar to the public not only in connection with 
this house, but as proprietor of the " Delavan House," 
Albany, and " The Arlington," Washington, D. C. 

The depot of the new railroad is only a few rods 
east of the house. An omnibus will meet every train. 

In the office of the hotel tickets are sold and baggage 
checked to all points. 

The general telegraph office for Lake George is 
located in the hotel, and furnishes free stock quotations 
daily 

Board, per week, $17.50, $21, $25, $28, according to 
room 



232 



THE MARION HOUSE, 

LAKE GEORGE, N. Y. 



Located on the west shore of the lake, about six miles north of Caldwell ; stands 
on a slight eminence, a little removed from the water ; commands a view of the 
broadest portion of the lake. 

Elevator, Gas, Electric Bells, Teleg-raph in the house. 

Four daily mails ; sanitary conditions perfect ; pure spring water. 

Jersey Milk, Cream and Vegetables from the Hotel Farm. 

Delightful drives. Good fishing. Every facility for amusement. 

Accommodations for 400 Guests. 

Rates, $3.50 per day ; $14 to $25 per week. Send for illustrated 
book. 

D. W. SHERMAN, Proprietor. 
H. I.. SHERMAN, Manager. 

Address at Glens Falls until June 20, after that date, at Lake George. 



CARL fOINT ilOUSE}, 

Lake George, N. Y. 



One of the leading hotels at the lake. Twelve miles from Cald- 
well, on the east side, in 

THE MOST ATTRACTIVE PART OF THE LAKE, 

known as the " Narrows." It has all the requisites for pleasure 
seekers, and its 

FLEET OF SAIL AND ROW BOATS 

is the largest on the lake. 

Capacity, 150. Telegraph in the house. Four daily mails. 
Rates, $3.50 per day ; |li2 to $21 per week. 

D. W. SHERMAN, Proprietor. 



233 

BURLEIGH HOUSE, 

TICONDEROGA, N. Y. 

E. J. WOOD, - - - Proprietor. 

This new and eleg-ant hotel is pleasantly located midway between liake 
Chainplaiii and Lake George. 

The Building is of brick, 80x40, 4 stories above the basement. Mansard roof, 
TOO commodious rooms, newly furnished, and supplied with an abundance of 
Lake George water, heated by steam, lighted by electric light, hot and cold 
water baths, complete fire protection on each floor. All the appointments are first- 
class. Burleigh House is w.thin three hours ride of Schroon Lake. Shortest and 
most direct way to the Adirondacks. 

Attractions include many points of historic interest within short range of this 
hotel, among which are the extensive fortifications of FORT TICONDEROGA, 
built by the French in 1755, and surrendered to Col. Ethan Allen, May 10th, 1775, 
who demanded it '* in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Con- 
gress." 

Mount Hope, where heavy redoubts and fortifications were made upon which 
to erect batteries to bear upon the Fort. 

Mount Defiance, which rises 750 feet above Lake Champlain. Gen. Burgoyne 
ascended this mountain from the north, July 4, 1777, erected a battery of heavy 
guns upon its summit, completely commanding the Fort, and dislodged the Ameri- 
cans. 

Lake George, (the " Como " of America), with its many delightful resorts, and 
thousand enchanting views. 

Liord Howe's Monument, erected near where he was fatally wounded by a 
French scout. 

Fort Fredei'ick, built by the French in 1731, much of which remains in a good 
state of preservation. And many other localities of interest. 

FIRST-CLASS LIVERY connected with the house. GOOD BOATING within 
few minutes walk on either lake. Fine opportunity for fishing, where tons of 
trout and bass are annually taken. Hunting grounds between Lake Pharaoh and 
Lake George abound with deer and small game. Telegraph and express office in 
the house. Rates of Board $10 to $20 per week. Transient, $2.50 per day. 







fclfr^^ HUNDRED ISLAND HOUSE, 

E. a. Bradley & Co., Proprietors. SHELVING EOOK, N. Y. 

Rates, |io to $17.50 per week; $2.50 to $3 per day. Post-office 
in the house. Particular attention given to invalids. Telegraph 
office within five minutes' walk. Fresh milk and vegetables from 
Shelving Rock farm. 



234 



^]\VyE ©HJIMPtJIIN iTEJIMERS- 



SUIVIIVIKR ARRANGEIVIBNT. 



SEASON OF 1890. 

"VERMONT," CAPT. RUSHLOW, 
will leave Plattsburgh at 7:00 a.m.; Bluff Point, 7:15 A. m.; Pert 
Kent, 7:35 A. M.; Burlington, 8:40 A. M.; Westport, 10:10 A. m., ar- 
riving at Fort Ticonderoga 12:25 p. m., connecting with trains for the 
South and Lake George ; returning, leave Fort Ticonderoga on arri- 
val of trains from the South and Lake George, 1:30 p. m.; Westport, 
3:30 P. M., for Burlington, Port Kent, Bluff Point and Plattsburgh. 

"CHATEAUGcAY," capt. Baldwin, 

will leave Westport at 7:00 A. M,, touching at Essex, Burlington, 
Port Kent, Bluff Point, Plattsburgh, Gordon's and Adam's, reaching 
North Hero, 12:20 P. m.; returning, leave North Hero 12:20 p.m., 
touching as above, arrive at Westport 6:45 p. m. 

NO SERVICE ON SUNDAYS. 

^JIKE ©EOI(GE (ITE/IMEKS. 

"HORICON." CAPT. MANYILLE, 
will leave Caldwell on arrival of train from Saratoga and the South, 
9:40 A. M., for way landings and Baldwin, connecting with train for 
Lake Champlain ; returning, leave Baldwin 1:00 p. m., for Caldwell 
and the South. 

"TICONDEROGA," capt. arbuckle, 

leaves Baldwin 7:30 A. m. for way landings and Caldwell, connecting 
with train for Saratoga, Albany and New York ; leaves Caldwell on 
arrival of train, 4:30 p. m., for Baldwin. 

MEALS SERVED ON BOARD. 

GENERAL OFFICE, P. W. BARNEY, 

Burlington^ J't. Gen'' I Superintendent . 



235 

THE RICHARDS HOUSE, 

WESTPORT, ESSEX CO., N. Y. 



This well-known kouse is located at the head of one 
of the most beautiful ba3^s on the continent, and com- 
mands an extensive view of Lake Champlain and the 
Green Mountains of Vermont. 

Its advantages for fishing are unexcelled, and will 
be appreciated by those who are fond of the sport. 
Boats furnished guests on aj)plication. 

There is no Malaria here. The air is bracing and 
the water pure and good. 

There are charming drives in the vicinity; a good 
livery connected with the house. Those who wish to 
ride can be furnished with good saddle horses. 

Free coaches to all trains and boats. Tele- 
graph office in house. 

Rates for board, $2 per day; $8 to $13 per week. 

M, A. CLARK, Prop., Westport, Essex Co., N. Y. 
TUC lilCCTDnDT lllil westport on lake cham- 

|nC ffCdlrlllll inili PLAIN, NEW YORK. 

Mrs. O. C. DANIELL, Manager. Mrs. HENRY C. LYON, Assistant. 

A small, thoroughly well aopointed house, with good table, pure water supply 
and excellent drainage, wide piazzas, with a superb view of the Lake and 
Mountains. • 

Good boating, fishing and fine drives. 

Livery stable near the house. 

It is within two minutes' walk of the Lake Champlain Transportation Com- 
pany's wharf, two minutes from the Library and Post Office, and ten minutes' 
drive from the Telegraph Office and Depot of the D. & H R. R. 

Stages to and from interior points in the Adirondacks twice daily. 

Address AVestport, N. Y. or 129 81. Uotolpli Street, Boston. 

STEVENS^llOUSK, 

VERGENNES, VT. 

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR 100 GUESTS. SITUATED 
AT HEAD OF NAVIGATION ON OTTER CREEK. 

Bus meets boat on arrival from Westport, and all trains. 

S. S. GAINES, Proprietor. 



236 

71 



f 

EI-iISJL.BE1?:E3:TO^i7^3^, InT. IT. 
^ 

Centrally situated on the routes to the Saranac Lakes, Raquette 

Waters and St. Regis Lakes ; Au Sable Chasm, Keene Valley 

and Mt. Marcy ; Schroon Lake, Lake Placid, John 

Brown's Grave and the Indian Pass, etc. 

Ticket and Teleg^raph Office in house. 

Located amidst some of the finest mountain scenery in the Adirondacks. 

Good drives radiate in every direction. Guides, Horses, Carriages, and every 
requisite for mountain excursions at reasonable prices. 

Fine Orchestra for Dancing. 

The Hotel has been enlarged and improved, and has every appliance for health 
and comfort. 

An elegant line of Tally-Ho stages connecting with all trains and boats at West- 
port, and with stages at Elizabethtown for Keene Valley, Lake Placid, Saranac 
and St. Regis Lakes, etc., etc. 

RATES, $2.5() to §S.OO per day. Special to paities making a protracted slay. 

ORLANDO KELLOGG, Proprietor, 

ELIZABETHTOAVN, N. Y. 

DIRECT ROaTE THReaSH 



-^s>- 



AGNEW BROS.' STAGE LINE. 

By consulting a map of the Adirondacks you will readily see that this is the 
Shortest, Most Direct and Only Route leading through the Mountains. 

Leave Elizabethtown daily, (Sundays excepted,) at 8 o'clock a. m. Fare to 
Holt's Corners, 10 miles, $1.00 ; Keene, 12 miles, $1 50 ; Cascade Lakes, (dinner,) 18 
miles, $2.00; Ames's, 22 miles, $250; Adirondack Lodge, (transfer station,) 22 
miles, $2.25 ; Lake PUcid, 27 miles, $3.00. Arrive at Lake Placid at 2 o'clock p. m. 

Returning, leave Lr^ke Placid at 10 o'clock a. m. (dinner at Keene Center,) arri>v- 
ingat Elizibethtovvii at 4 o'clock p. m., connecting with Kellogg's Stages to trains 
North and South. 

FINE COACHES. SPLENDID HORSES. 

GOOD ROADS. CAREFUL DRIVERS. 

DELIGHTFUL SCENERY. 



237 

IVIANSION HOUSE, =="^^i??T.S-I°^''- 

1 ■ S'tUTted at the gateway to all the popular summer resorts in the Adiron- 
dacks, seven miles f r ^m Westport Station, on the D & H. Co.'s R. R., Coo feet 
above tide wat<-r. Finest mountari scent ry, purest air and best water. No 
malaria, no hay fever. Tables uns irpussed ; ap; ointments modern; sanitary- 
arrangements p:nfect. Write for circular. G. W. JENKINS, Manager. 

INTERLAKEN HOUSE , atjgue ™ 

■ ■ ■ CHARLES FURY, Manager. ■ • - 

One of the most attractive Summer and Winter Resorts in the Adirondack region. 
2^o feet of veranda vv'ith oitside stairways to the lawn, making a coinpl te tire 
escape f'oin ea h _floor. ROOM < LARGE AND NEWLY FURNL'^HED 
throughout. The house is situated on the b:uiks of n chartning mountain lake, 
five mil'-s from F^ort Kent, three miles from Au Sable Chasm, ^hree raiUs from 
Poke o'Moonshiiie and Bald Face Mountain. Climate free frovi malaria atui hay 
/e7'er. Mountain ;'nd lake scene ry unexcelled. First-class stable connected 
WITH the house. Beautiful drives, .-^plemiid b.^ati^ig and fishiyn; nerr for both 
Black Bass and Spcc-hd Trout. Fresh milk, cream and vegetables. Three daily 
mails. Telegraph in immediate vicinity. For further parlicu'ars, address, 

_ CHARLES FURY. KeesevUle. N.Y. 

CUMPE;RUNDTlOLISE7Plattsburgh, N.Y. 
Located on Trinity S(iuare. Richly furnished. Eve'-y convenience. Table 
unsurpassed. Special attention given to Tourists and Sporti,j>ien. Fiee carriage 
to all boats and trains. Rates, $2 00 per day. Special for extended stay. 

S. G. CORBIN, Proprietor. 

MITEL WTKDg©R 

ROUSE'S POINT, N. Y. 
Lake Champlain and Adirondacks. 

Is delightfully situated on the shore of the beautiful Lake Champlain, near its 
northern end. Its location makes it a very desirable residence for parties to whom 
acquatic exercises and e.xcursions are a source of pleasure, united with charming 
land trips and amusements. The air is invigorating and health giving, while the 
nights are always cool and delightful, and free from that oppressive and depressing 
sultriness so common to summer resorts. 3 1-3 Hours from Ottawa. 

The Pleasantest and Healthiest Spot in North'n New York. 

Neither malaria nor insects; no hay fever. Everything new and clean. Sani- 
tary arrangements perfect. 

The Angler will find at Rouse's Point every facility for enjoyment. Experts 
with rod and reel find here the gamiest of fish, there being an abundance of Black 
Bass, Pike, Pickerel, Muscalonge, Yellow Perch and other varieties of the finny tribe. 

The Huntsman will find for his game bag Woodcock, Snipe, Plover and 
Diick in abundance. Steam Yachts, Boats, Carriages, and Saddle Hors<.s. Two 
daily mails from New York. Morning papers received in the tv« ning. 

TERMS: $2.50 to $3. OO Per Day. 

A Liberal Reduction made for Parties remaining by the Week and Season. 

CHAS. BECK, Hotel Windsor, 
Also Florida House, Dec. to May, St. Augustine, Fla. Kou.se's Point, N. Y. 



k 



238 



PT 



Hl*)^ 




-vv.v^^ "' 






E"rE"?Tflal;;; 



?. 5 . - M M 



M i ,,. J 1] !| p S J i^ ;1 f ^'CJJ ::' fU'i 



k'f 







"Jl?e ^otel Ql^amplaip" 

BLUFF POINT, N. Y. 

(Lake Champlain.) 



THE NEW AND SUPERB 

unr^nr^er cKofef of ifie Rorifi. 

STRICTLY FIRST CLASS. 



O. D. SEAVKY, Manager. 



230 



PEASLEVILLE, Clinton County, N. Y. 



Trout Fishing, Shooting, Boating, Driving. 

^ 

" Those who seek the country for health and comfort ; for beautiful 
scenery ; for pure air and water ; for good hunting and fishing ; for 
abundant and wholesome country fare ; for a pleasant summer home 
amid a respectable and hospitable people, with <ut the expense and 
social exactions of a fashionable summer resort, will find them all at 
Peasleville, in Clinton County, where the little Salmon River breaks 
through between the mountains into the Champlain Valley." 

Accommodations can be found among the farm houses in 
the valley and on the mountain sides. Address for particulars, 

ARNOLD & RICKETSON, 

Peasleville, Clinton County, N. Y. 

ADIRONDACK STAGE CO. #^ 

5T/IQE AHl^ PMCKBO/lRb LINE 

BETWEEN 

noRTR mee KffQLue mou nTAin lskg. 

Through R. R. tickets are sold to and from Blue Mountain Lake 
and all principal R. R. offices, and baggage checked throutjh, and 
the Stage Co.'s Agent boards all arriving trains in season to re-check 
baggage direct to hotels. 

The Western Union Direct Express service is maintained to and 
frntn all jtoints in connection with the Adirondack and Nuti'tnal 
Hjrjtress Companies. 

Coach Fares are as follows : Fron North Creek to North River, 
50c.; to Indian Lake, (P.O.) |li.8o ; to Cedar River Hotel, $2.00 ; to 
Blue Mountain Lake, $3.00. Applications for buckboard carriages, 
time cards, etc., should be made by mail or telegraph to the Supt. 
Adirondack Stage Co. Line, at North Creek 

The six and four-horse coaches are supplemented by a large number 
of very elegant canopy-top buckboard carriages, seating p rtie> oi 3 
and 5. which can be engaged at a reasonable additional charge 

Morning coaches from North Creek connect at Blue Vlt. Lake direct 
with steamers for Raquette Lake and stages to Long Lake. 

WALTER V. V. MARSH, Supt. 



240 

1890. rr:E3::E: 1890. 

«GHATEAUGAY RAILROAD* 



BEIWKEN 



PLATTBBURGH and HARANAC LAKE. 

NEW ALL RAIL ROUTE 

TO TME 

ytdiporpdaek fI?oantain§, 

IN CONNECTION WITH THE 

DELAWARE & HUDSON RAILROAD. 

The distance between New York and Paul Smith's 67 Miles 
shorter than by any other route. 

Daily Trains (Sundays excepted) throughout the year. 

Two Daily Trains each way (Sundays excepted) during- the pleasure season. 

A Sunday Train each way during July and August. 

C> DRAWING ROOM CARS ON ALL TRAINS.«<1 

It is the only line by which through tickets can be procured and baggage checked 
to Chazy, (Jhateajgay, Loon and baranac Lakes, Lake Placid and S.iranac Inn. 
Bloomingdale to Paul Smith's, only . , , .6 miles stage ride. 
Saranac Lake to Lake Placid, " . . . 8 " ...» 

" '■ Saranac Inn 14 " >. << 

. " " Adirondack Lodge, ... 17 " " " 

" " Cascade Lakes, 18 " •% »i 

The extension of the Chateaugay Railroid from Loon Lake to Saranac Lake 
enables passengers to reach Paul S.Jiith's with ONLY SIX MILKS STAGE RIDE 
in six-horse Concord Coaches over tirst-class roads. 

Wairiu'r Palate Sleepiua: Cars from »iv York to Plattshiiriirh, where car is set 
off a>ia passengers called in time for breakfast at Fouquet House, direcily opposite 
Union Ucpot. AMPLE TI.VIE GIVliN FOR MEALS. 

Passe ig.^rs leaving New York by (9:00 .\. m. train, reach Plattsburgh for supper, 
lodge, and take train following morning. 

Tickets, Sleeping and Drawing Room Car AccommoJations, and Baggage 
Checked from Paul Smitn's Hotel and all stations througn to destination. 

A. L. INMAN, M. L. FRENCH, 

General Manager. Supt., Plattsburgh, N. Y. 



241 

UPPER CHATEAUGAY LAKE-ln the Adirondacks. 

OLIVER YOUNG, Proprietor, - - Merrill, Clinton County, N. Y. 

HOUSE OPEN SUMMER AND WINTER. 

DEER, Bear, Foxes, Squirrels and Game Birds ; Speckled Trout, Salmon Trout, 
Landlocked Salmon, California Trout, Graylinir and White Fish are caught 
here. Post and Teleg^raph Office in the house. Base Ball and Tennis grounds. 
Good Livery, Boats and supplies. 

RATES: $10 to .S14 per week. Discount for small children. 



l\AUf\' 



llpner Clialeaniay Lake, 



OPEN JUNE 15th TO OCTOBER. 
RATES: $3 per day ; $12 to $i6 per week. J. W. HUTTON, PROP'r. 

||llOI3ilS mrnm^E mmSm, Opper Chateaugaj Lake. 

^is Pure air and water. No malaria. Boating, bathing. Trout fishing a spec- 
ialty Native game, including Bear and Deer, killed by guests of the house. 
BOARD : Per day, $1.50. Per week $8.00 to $10.00. Guides and boats at reason- 
able rates. Special attention to sportsmen. Correspondence solicited. 

Address, R. M. SHUTTS, Merrill, Cliuton County, N. T. 

RAINBOW LAKE HOTEL, 

ADIRONDACK^. 

J. M. WARDNER, Prop. P. O. Rainbow, N. Y. 

TUB tiest Hiiauag, Boaiing and risMng Grounds to De found in tie Adirondacks. 

RECENT ADDITIONS and IMPROVEIvIENTS. House new and commodious. 
Post office and telegraph office in the house. Mails daily. Carriages connect 
with all trains both ways. Parties leaving New York at 7:30 p.m. arrive at Rainbow 
in time for dinner the following day. A bountiful supply of fresh eggfs, milk and 
vegetables from Rainbow farm. Board per day, $2.50 ; per week, $10.00 to Si5-oo- 
Rainbow Lake abounds in the finest trout and affords the best trolling and fly fishing. 
It has been restocked with 800,000 trout the past 5 years. The largest lake trout on 
record was caught here— wt. 52 lbs. Boats guides and supplies for parties camping 
out. Boating parties start within 50 feet of the house and have uninterrupted sailing 
through numerous lak.;s for over 12 niles. This is noted feeding ground for deer. 

(IB^Ygfi^Ii gPF^ING JI0U3E,BloomiEg(lale,EsseiCfl„NJ. 

\J Phasant drives all about. G )od fishing. Situated about one and a half miles 
from Railroad station Best of water and good tables. Board from $8 to $15 
per week. Liberal reduction made for families and parties. 

M. L. BALDWIN, Prop'r, Bloomingdale, N. Y. 

FOWLER'S LIVERY, saranac n.jt. 

IN CONNECTION WITH 

HOTEL AMPERSAND and THE ALGONaUIN. 

Carriages to meet parties at depot on arrival of all trains. 

W. S. FOWL.EK, Proprietor. 



242 




HOTEL AMPKRSAXI) IN WINTER. 



THE M^lisL 

OFSJSr THE! EnSTTIRE "X":E.A-R, 

LOWER SARANAC LAKE, ADIRONDACKS. 

Post Office Address, A>IPEKSAN1>, Franklin Co., N. Y. 

One and a quarter miles from Saranac Lake station, Chateaugay 
Railroad. Tally-Ho coach meets all trains. Fifteen hours from 
New York, via New York Central & Hudson River Railroad or 
Hudson River steamers. 

Heated by steam, lighted with gas. Electric bells, elevator, bath 
rooms on each floor. Large open fire-places in all public rooms and 
large bedrooms. Cuisine and service of the highest standard of 
excellence. 

Rates from $21 per week upwards ; Transients, $4 per day. 
Diagram of rooms and illusirated l)ook Iree on application. Other 
information cheerfully given. 

Trout fishing from May ist to September 15th. Deer hunting 
from August 15th to November ist. Fox and Rabbit shooting during 
the winter months. 

Boats, Guides, fishing tackle, camp outfits and supplies furnished. 

EATON & YOUNG, Managers. 



243 

SARANAC LAKE HOUSE, 

Saranac Lake, Adirondack Mountains, Hew York. 

AN DNSUHPASSED SUMMER RESORT FOR SPORTSMEN p^^^ FAMILIES. 

Situatd on the east shore of the lov<My " Lower Saranac Lake," at an elevation 
of 2,ooD f_-et above sealeveL Deer, the ir mt, wild du !v and oilier game are plen- 
lif 1, furnishing: a constant succession of sports from May to November. 

The hotel is one of the largest and most, commodious in th<> A lirondacks ; nearly 
surro' nded by a broj.d piazza, with 1,000 feet of p.omenadc ; has accommodations 
lor 250 guests. 

ROOMS LARGE AND WELL VENTILATED. 

The tab'e is the best in the mountains, .nnd has all the d hcacies of the season- 
as good as the bcSt at Saratoga. '1 rout and Venisun at all limes. 

THE LOCATION AND CLIMATE 

is such that it is highly recommended by eminent physicians f( r fl" r>'> suffering 
from lung and pulmonary d scascs, vie. Maa.ia and hay lev; r arc u.'l.^nov^n. 
Telegraph, Post Office, Boats and Livery connected wuh house. 

FIRST-CLASS IN ALL RESPECTS. 
For terms and further particulars, address, 

D. J. GILLIGAN, Proprietor, 
H. H. TOUSLEY, Clerk. Saranac Lake, N. Y. 




l70-/flgor;)q6irp, 



(FORMERLY ALEXANDER'S,) 

ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS 



)J 



Located distant from Chateaugay Railroad Station and Village of 
Saranac Lake one and a half miles, on an eminence ab )ve the 
Lower Saranac Lake, a d commanding a most superb view of 
Mountains, Woods and Water. 

THE IDEAL MOUNTAIN RESORT, 

and acknowledged to be one of the prettiest spots in the Adirondacks. 
Extensive amusement grounds, including a good dirt Tennis Court, 
etc., in connection with the house. Good walks. First-class Livery. 
Safe Boating. Cuisine and service the best. 

Rates from $ I 5 to $25 per week ; $3 to $4 per day. 

Telegraph and Post Office address: | JOHN HA R1)IN(t}, Proprietor. 
SARANAC LAKE, N. Y. I Late of Eaton & Harding, Hotel Ampersand, 



244 

McCOY'6 RUSTIC lOPG^, 

UPPER SARANAC LAKE. 

Fourteen miles by water from Saranac Station on Chateaugay Railroad. Daily 
mails. SUPERB FISHING AND HUNTING. 

Kates, *2.50 per Day; »10 to ^14 per Week. For Season Rates 
apply at Office. 

Open May ist to October 20th. Guides, Boats and Hunting and Fishing 
Supplies furnished. Pleasant Walks. Good Drives. Telegraph communication 
within twenty minutes walk of the house. 

„ ^^ ^ E. R. McCOY, Proprietor. 

Post Office address, Saranac Lake. 



Sweenfry Carry, Upper Saranac Lake ^^^ O 

NEW HOUSE. OPEN MAY TO NOVEMBER. 
For Particulars, address, 

T. EDWARD KRUMBHOLZ, Manager, Wawbeek, New York. 

Telegraph Office in the House. 

SARANAG*INN, 

UPPER SARANAC LAKE. 

Post Office Address, SARANAC INN, Franklin County, N. Y. 



THE COUNTRY OF FISH AND GAME 

AND HEALTHFUL RECREAl ION. 



TERMS AT THE INN, - - - $3, 50 Per Day. 

Special Rates by the Week. 



Trotit Kisliing from May ist to September 15th. 

Deer JE-Iu.ntiiig from August 15th to November ist. 

Boat"?, Guides, Fishing Tackle, Supplies and Camp outfits furnished 
at the house. Correspondence solicited. Circulars and Maps sent 
on application. 

D. W. RIDDLE, Manager. 



245 



• HIAWATHA -HOUS^- 

Stony Cr<?<?t Pond^. -- /l{lirondiick5. 

O the celebrated Indian Ca-rv between the Upper Saranac a^d Raquette waters. 
Newly fuinished and surroundings beaulitied. Will be kept in tirs -class manner. 

WE WILL MRKE EVERY EFFORT TO PLEASE THE SPORTING PEOPLE. 

De- r seen almost daily from the house. Abundance of trout in the pond and 
brooks within thirty rods of the door. 
CHAS. WAKDNER, 3Iaiiajjer. JAMES H. PIERCE, Proprietor. 

p^-m-^K T-» r^ \ /i TI> T "C^tr^Ci Kaquette River, south end of 

^ I ^KOiVl DjL^Cyli*' v!!>, bweeney Carry. Daily mail and 
I expr ss to Saranac Lake Splendid river fishuif,'. BOARD, $io per week; 
$2 oo per day. Opeu May ist to November ist. Ei^ht miles from Tupper 
Lake btai.on, ^j/^^^/^j^^^^^^^ OLIVER TROMBLEE, Wawbeek, N. Y. 



FENTON HOUSE, '^'^"^'Sw^i'*S?L«t.. 

■ More Deer and Trout than in any part of the Adirondacks ! 

Cottages and ample play grounds make it a most desirable place for families 
during the summer. 

BOARD, $2.00 PER day; $9.00 AND $10.00 PER WEEK. 

Address, OHAELES FENTON, Number Pour, Lewis Co., N. Y. 



POR EASY COXVEYAXCES to and from the NORTH WOODS, apply to 
JAY RAMSEY, Lo^wville, N. Y., 

Who has wagons made expressly for this business, and can convey parties in the 
most comfortable manner. 

Parties should send their orders a few days in advance. 



Cranberry Lake House, 

i,6oo feet above the sea. ]3est Sporting Grounds in the Adirondacks. Guides, 
boats, etc., f irnished. Board, «10.50 per jveek ; $3.00 per day. 
(See page 207-B.) MRS. E. J. BISHOP, Clarksboro, N. Y. 



TrlL WLolblUL tiUILLi evergreen and hard wood grove, 
' on a p ateaa 40 feet abjve the lake, and 1,900 feet above the sea, with charm- 
ing mojntain. forest aad water scenery from the piazza. It is a large three-story 
Duilding, with wide double piazzis on the front and each end, and each " )or is 
supplied with runnino spring water. It is the only hotel on the shore of Lake 
Pla-ii. Rjard, $3 per day; $[2 to #20 per week. Newcotta^es. Tables supplied 
with vegetables f om the propriet jr's own garden. (See page 93.) 

OLIVER ABEL., Proprietor, Elizabethtown, or Lake Placid, N. Y. 



FRENCH'S HOTEL. North side of Whiteface Mountain $2 per day; 
.tflo U >$.T per week. ' R. L FRENCH, Proprietor. Post Office address, 
Franklin Fahs, N. Y. 



Bttt CLEAR POXD HOUSE, BUNKER & RICE, Propr.et >rs. Capacity, 
43. Bjard, Sj per day ; $t2 to $[5 per week. Post Office, Bl ^^.ningdale, 8 
miles distant. Stage fare, $1.50. Op^n May ist to Novemoer. 



246 

nrUPPKR I^AKK HOUSB, 

A.. I^. CORKY, ("Lem Corey") F'ROF'RIETOR. 

P. 0. Address, Saranac Lake, Franklin Co., N. Y. 

Kecomnieudatioii. -' i he best location for sport and as healthful as any 
ill the Ailiroudacks."— Dit. Ai.fkkdI.. Loumis. 

This House is located at the head of Big Tnpper Lake, at an elevation of 
l.r)75 feet above the sea, and is iu the very center of the Lake Rtgion, to which I)r 
Looniis in his lecture before the Medical Society of the State of New York, called 
the attention of the profession (Vide Med. Rec, Vol. 15, No. 17. April 26, 1879). It 
is spacious and elegant, coiit;iii)ing accommodations for one huudred guests. It 
contains large bedrooms, riuiging in size from 11x12 to 15x17 feet, and has open fire- 
places in the parlor and principal b.drooms. Cold water is brought into all the floors 
of the house from a mountain spiing. 

ADVANTAGES TO GUESTS. 

Located at the entrance of the GREAT MUD LAKE COUNTRY, this house 
offers advantages to sportsmen who desire to camp near tiieir faniili s, and yet be 
iu the part of the Adirondacks where deer and trout are found in abundance. 

To those seeking rest and recreatiim it offers with its large, airy and well ven- 
tilated rooms, superior location and benefits, there being fine Jake trout, fisliing in 
Tupper's Lake, and brook trout fishing iu the adjacent lakes and rivers, no fatiguing 
journey is required for a day's sport. 

The temperature iu tlie hottest months seldom rises above 80 degrees. No 
mosquitoee. The house is supplied witli vegetables fresh from ihe liotel garden. 

Kates $3 00 per day ; $14 to !S31 per week. Special fur a longer 
term. 

In connection with the hotel is a sujiply and provision store stocked with the 
best goods the New York market alfords. Campers can rely upon getting stall 
times, in this store, everything nci-d- d iu the shape of provisions and groceries, 
both staple and fancy. Tlie jjroprietor buys his goods of first hands in New York 
and will sell at New York retail prices wiih freight only added. 

Daily Mails after June 1st. Steamer runs to connect with t»-ain9 on thi 
Northern Adirondack Railroad, Tupper Lake Station. Through Cars from 
Grand Central Station, Mew York. 

CHILDWOLD RARK HOUSE, 

LAKE MASSA\VKF»IE, 

Is an exceeding-ly attractive Game and Fish Preserve, charmingrly 
located in the Wilderness of the Adirondacks. 

The Park consists of upward^ of three thousand acres, embracing Lake Massa- 
wepie and a group of fine, charming, mountain lakelets. 

THE CHILDWOLD PARK HOUSE was erected in 1889 by the owners of the 
Childwold Estate. It is located in a fiue grove of majest c forest trees, betweeu two 
•of the Pat k lakes, and commands an uninterrupted view of Lake Ma«sawepie. 'I'he 
House is throughly constructed, plea-^antly and conveniently arranged, and admira- 
bly adapted to promoe the comforts and health of its guests. The tahle will be 
suppliea with the best the market affords. 

The huniiug and fishing is excellent. Canoes and experienced guides can be 
procured at the hotel. 

The soil is of a gravelly nature and readily absorbs moisture. The lakes are 
peculiarly free from fogs. Malaria is unknown. 

Dr. J. A. Thessell, of Boston, occupies a lodge in the vicinity of the hotel, 
and may be summoned at anytime should the services of a skillful physician be 
required. 

Childwold Park House is reached from BOSTON ria Central Vermont R R 
Frnm NEW YORK, riu N Y. C. & H. R. R. R. PILLMAX ( AHS FROM BOSTON- 
AM) WAIiXEK (AHS FROM NKW VOHK TO CHILDWOLD STATION. Also 
reached Irom PLATTSBURGH, ria Chateaugay R. R. and Saranac Lakes. 

Terms, §3.00 to $3.00 per day. Special Rates by Week or Season. 

WM. F. INCOLD, MANAGER. 



247 



ae)ik(D]^e)j^g:k:b 



MIRR0RLAKEH9TEL, 



. GRAND VIEW HQ^SE, 

pf eetTAGES, 



HiJi-ICE I=rj^&.CIID. 



ACCOMMODATIONS FOR 500 GUESTS. 



ALL IMPROVEMENTS. 

Electric Light, Steam Heat. Elevator, Tennis. 
Bowling, Billiards. Band and Orchestra, 



Incites, $4 per Da^; $20 to fg5 per Week. 
Address, H. S. ISHAIVI, 

Xvlan^eer. 



UIRGRG * SR ALL * U GO ^^ 

TO THE ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS ! 
TO THE 

MOUNT PORTER HOUSE, 

I . KEENE VALLEY, ESSEX COUNTY. 

It is a new house. It is furnished luxuriously. It gives good food, 
w 11 cooked and well serv.d. Its vegetables are fresh every day 
from ihi valley farm. It has an abundance of fresh eggs, and milk 
and sweet new butter from the same source, and its manager does 
eveiything possible for the c mfort of his guests. 

It is on high ground, above all o'her hotels of Keene Valley. It 
h s frequent mails, and stages running regularly to the steamboat 
and D. & H. Railroad at Westport. It is on the borderland of good 
hunting and fishing. 

Its rates are $3. 50 per day ; $15.00 to $21.00 per week. 

Address, J. S. HOLT, IVlaiiajjer, 

KEENE VALLEY, N. H. 

Repliuiiiar the " BetMh' House," \P M ULPFI'S I ^ IIA ^P 
(Destroyed by fire March 3d, 1890.) J * L JL ^ J\ ^-^-J^-J 

Formerly tlie " Widow Beetle's." 

BEETLES, ESSEX COUNTY, N. 1\ 



The above well known hotel properties have b en purchased by 
the Keenk Heights Hotel Co , and will be conducted under one 
management. 

A new hotel, the ST. HUBERT'S INN, will replace the former 
Beede House. 

Spacious room?, open fire-places, steam heat, pure water, and per- 
fect drainage are all provided for. 

It being impossible to complete the (V/Z/Vr new building in lime for 
the season of 1890, the accommodations will be limited. 



Cottage opens June 1st. Inn opens July 1st. 

r rooms and terms: 
F. L. LOIIIXJ, MaiLiger. 



Ad.re. for rocs and .™s: ggJJ,£ JJgJgpg ggygj^ (jg^^ 



BEEDES, ESSEX CO., N. Y. 



2A9 

TKHKiAZUS HOUSE, 

KFKNE VALLKY, NEW YOUK. 

The best of beds, the best of lare. Telegrraph ol'hce at post office, c ose by 

RATES, $2 per day ; $< to $12 per week. Op-n June ist to October 15 I'. 
Dining room enlarged. New Cottage connected witn thehouse. Five Loitagc:^ 
to Let. Accommodations for 75 guests. See page 155. 

GEO. EGGLEFIEL3, PROPRIETOR. 

Keene Valley, Essex Co., N. Y. MARTIN BAHLER, A.M., Prop. 

RATES, $fo.oo per week ; $2.00 per day ; full price for children over 5 yeais. 
No transients. No Hebrews. Accommodations for about 35 guests. Open from 
23d of June. 

The most magnificent mountain scenery of the Adirondacks is found in and 
around Keene Valley. Flume Cottage is beautifully situated on a grassy ridge at 
the entn.nce of " Washbond's Flume." Special attention paid to home comforts, 
and unusual facilities afforded for visiting points of interest. Table first-class, 
with an abundance of fresh vegetables Running water from the high mountains 
in the rear of the premises. 

Dajly mail. Telegraph and express. Send for descriptive circular with full 
particulars. Address, until June 20th, SUMMIT, N. J. 

MAPLE GROVE MT. HOUSE, 

HENRY WASHBOND, Proprietor. 

Is situated in the central part of Keene Valley, on high ground, commanding a 
view of " Giant " and " Noon Mark,'' two cf the principal mountains of the Valley. 
In the rear of the house is a delightful maple grove, affording good shade. It is 
only a short distance from church, post office and telegraph office. The water is 
pure. Can accommodate about 40. 

Terms, SI 50 per day ; 88 to SilO per week. 
A good livery connected with the house. Address 

HENRY WASHBOND, Keene Valley, N. Y. 



G. F. MARVIN, Photographer. 

PORTRAITS in all the popular styles and sizes mad with greatest care. 

All FIELD WORK, VIEWS and INTERIORS promptly executed, by an 
artist of long experience in that department. 

All branches of the work by an experienced corps of artists, under the imme- 
diate supervision of the proprietor. 

Will be in KEENE VALLEY, from July 21st to August 1st. 
BEEDE'S, from Aug-ust 1st to August 15th. 

LAKE PLACID, from August 15th to Sept. 5th. 

SARANAC LAKE, from S'-pt. 5th to Oct. 1st, 1890. 

All orders promptly filled ani work done in any part of Adirondack region. 
Correspondence solicited. Headquarters, KEESEVILLE, N. Y. 



ADIRONDACK LODGE,. 

CLEAR LAKE. NORTH ELBA. 



The Largest and Handsomest LOG- Building in the United States, 

AND 

The Most Comfortable House in the 

ADIRONDACK REGION. 

Tastefully built, in rustic style throughout, it is thoroughly 
comfortal)le, and fitted with 

EVERY MODERN IMPROVEMENT. 

LOCATED 

In the Midst of the Yarious Attractions of the Adirondack Mountains, 

TRAILS RADIATE 

From the Lodge directly to the following points: 

THE INDIAN PASS, 

AVALANCHE TASS- 

MOUNT ISIARCY, 

MOUNT McINTYRE. 

MOUNT JO (or "The Rear"-), 
MOUNT GOLDEN. 

SOUTH MEADOW RASIN. 

All of these trails have been carefully cut by experienced 
guides, expressly for the Lodge, and others will be added 
during the Summer. 

The Lodge is the headquarters for mountain climbing in 
Ihe Adirondacks. 

The grounds of the Lodge comprise an area of 1*280 acres 

For particulars, address, 

HENRY VAN HOEVENBERGH, 

Proprietor Adirondack Lodge, 

Oascadeville P. 0., Essex Co., N. Y. 

Or N. Y. Agency, l(M> iiinl [OH Liberty St., New York Citv. 



2e;t 



ROCKWELL'S HOTEL,^''i=l^= 
$2. 50 per day, according- to rooins ; per week, $10. 50 to $14. Children 
and servants, $7.00 to $10.50 ; horses, $5.25 to $7.00. 
REFERENCES.— Samuel M. Croft, V. P. United States Insurance Co., 115 
Broadway, New York : E. B. Talcott, Mills Building, Broad Street and Ex- 
change Place, New York. 

OEOIJGE H. ROCKWELL, Owner and Proprietor. 



LAKE LUZERNE, 
N. Y. 



Wayside Hotel and Cottages, 

Located at the confluence of the Sacandaga and Hudson Rivers, 700 feet 
ABOVE TIDE-WATER. Twenty miles from Saratoga on the Adirondack 
Railroad. Western Union Telegraph in the house. The best of accommo- 
dations ; cuisine unexcelled ; fine drives. $3.50 and 14.00 per day. Special 
rates for Jime and September. 

E. C. KING-, Manager. 



Potiersville Hotel ""^ Schroon Lake. 

Hunting- and Fishing Resort. Dining place for Schroon Lake 
passengers. Rates I2.00 per day ; $7.00 to $10.00 per week. 
Special for the season. JOHN B. WELLS, 

P. O. Address, Pottersville, N. Y. F»roprietor. 




l9Ga\}i++ §+a^G bir^G.-' 



Riverside to Schroon Lake. Eug'ene 
■ Leavitt, Proprietor. Leaves River- 
side on arrival of all trains from the 
south. Returning, leaves Schroon Lake to connect with trains for Saratoga. 
Fare, $1. New four and six-horse Concord coaches afford a delightful ride 
through a picturesque region. 

^Invalids or parties wishing: easy carriages or special ries of any kind, cau 
secure such on reasonahle terms hy addressing: at Pottersville. 



252 

SCHROON LAKE. 

HIS POPULAR HOUSE which contains 
first-class accon.modations for 200 guests, 
will be re-opened June 15, 1890. Hotel 
grounds extend to the lake on two sides, 
and are ornamented with trees, shrubbery, 
summer houses, etc. Delightful Location, 
Fine Scenery, High Elevation and Pure 
Water. Finest Boating, Bathing, Driving, 
Fishing and Hunting in the Adirondacks. 
Carriage, Boar, Express and Telegraph 
Office in the Hotel. Good Stables. 

The pie sure of rural and forest life are 
here combined with modern conveniences and 
social privileges in a greater degree than in 
any other place in Northern New York. 
Terms, transient per day, $3.00 to $3.50 ; by 
the week. $12.50 to $25. Special arrange- 
ments for prolonged stay. 
Send for circulars and diagram. 

L. R. & E. D. LOCKE, Proprietors. 




THE ARLINGTON OOTTACE. 

SCBROOJN LAKE, N. Y. 

Pleasantly located but a short distance from the lake shore. One- 
half mile north of the steamboat landing. Supplied with pure spring 
water Bath Room. Rates, $7 to |io per week ; |2 per day. Send 
for circular. C. C. WHIT NEY , Proprietor. 

"^ayloT^lloitsc atitl Cottages^ 



C. F. Taylor & Son, Proprietors. Capacity, 
$2.50 to $3.00 per day; $12 to $17 per week. 
lor's-on-Schroon, Warren County, N. Y. 



150 guests. Board, 
P. O. address, Tay- 



Grove Point House, 

SchroonLake. T»rmp, $2 per day; $8 to $12 per wrek. Flea=ai\t]y situated 
in a shady grove, on the west side of the]akt^, half a mile from thevillag''. Steamer 
Effingham will land vou at the house. The room^ are large and \\ til furnished. 
Table one of the leading features. Send for circular and nit of hon-e 
CAPACITY 75 GUESTS. IV. A. MACKENZIE, Jr., Proprietor. 

LAKE HOUSE, 

Schroon Lake, Essex County, N. Y. Open from June 20 to Oct 1st. Terms 
per day $2 25 ; adults, per week $10 50 to $14 00 ; children and nurses $7.00. E. E. 
Ridden, Proprietor. (Formerly of the Riddell House Luzeri.e, Warr.n Connty, 
N. Y.) BEST OF REFERENCES ON APPLICATION. Special rates to ex- 
cursionists. 



253 

CHESTERTOWN, N. Y. HARRY S. DOWNS, Prop. 

High dry land. Pure air. Mountain spring water. Fine Drives, 
and best bass fishing in the Adirondacks. A First-class Livery con- 
nected. Terms, $2 per day ; l|io to $12 per week. 



L^MEKICAM HOTEIL 



NORTH CHEEK, Warren Co., N. Y. JOHN McINERNY, Prop. 

Main Street, three minutes' walk from Adirondack Comp ny's Depot. Refitted 
and furnished throughout in first-class biyle. 

BOARD $6 to $10 per week ; meals 50c Trout and Game in their season. 

N. B.-A first-class Livery attached to the House Parties vishiner 
pnvd.te conveyances lo the wilderness, uc ieas>ji able priees, can be accommodated. 

Address, JOHN McINERNY, North Creek, N. Y. 



NORTH RIVER HOTEL 

is on the Hudson River, 5 miks f'om ihe frminus of the Adirondack Railroad, at 
N>.rth Creek, on tiie 

Direct road to Bme Mountain Lake, and is ilie repl jr dining place for passengers 

going and coming. TELEGRAPH (onn<cticn with tie Western Union. 

Stages and paten C?nopy-top Eucl.b ards cany gucf ts to and fre-m ; II tr^ms. 

DINNER 75 Cts.; $2.50 PER DAY; $10 TO $15 PER WEEK. 

Buckboards run to this house on arrival of afternoon trains at North Creek, and 
can be had for P>lue M( untain Lake next morning. 

W. H. ROBLEE, Prop. North River Hotel, p. o, Nortu River, warren Co 

LdkO PlSdSSnt HOUSGi A^'MJcoy. Pmprie^or.^'Ww FurnUure. 
New Carpets. New Brds. Terms, S« to $12 per week, $; per day. Stage fare 
from Northville $2. Private conveyances will meet parties at Nonhville at same 
price. Daily stage after July TSt. Post office and telegrapli mi the house. Close 
attention and care sriven to families. Mouse overlooks Lake Pleasant and Round 
Lake. Pleasant drives and the finest scei ery. 



FAIR YIE:W H0USS,^'-"^~'A°D",SL1!>'D^fe5g."'''-^- 

Good Accommodations. Fine Boating, Fishing and Hunting. Store in 
connection with Hotel with full stock of goods for sportsmen's outfits. 
Prices : $10 to $14 per w^eek ; $2 per dav. Dinner, 75 cents. This popular 
Hotel is at the beginning of a long and delightful water route through 
lakes and, standing as it does near the water's edge, commands the finest 
view of this THE FINEST LAKE IN THE ADIRONDACKS. Steamboats 
leave the house at regular trips. Route via Adirondack R. R. from Sara- 
toga to North Creek. Stages to house. 

JOHN SAULT, Proprietor. 



BLUE MOUHTAIH HOUSE, 

MERWIN S HALL, Proprietors, 

is situated at the head of Blue Mou itain Lake, on an elevation of 200 feet above 
its surface, ana 140 rods dista t. 

The view of the surrounding laics and mountains from this point is unequaled 
in this section. 

Blue mountain is 3.824 feet abovf tide water ; an excellent path leads to i^s sum- 
mit, from which iiixtetn lakes can be distinctly seen. 

" 1*1:16 HtintirLg eind Kisliing is Excellent. 

A line' of ''steamers make daily" trips throrgh Eaple. Utowana and Raquette 
Lakes to Fort Lake Carry, making the most delightful excursion imaginable. 

The climate is invigorating and owing fo its pl«vation and bracing air the place 
is well adapted to those afflicted with Hay Fever, as many can testifv. 
Sufferers here find almost instant relief on arrival, while those who come in ad- 
vance of its anticipated attack, are not troub'el with it at all during their stay. 

Passengers by Adirondack sleeper le ve Grand Central Depot, N. V.. at 7:^0 
p. M., arrive here next noon. Leave Sarato;,'a Springs by morning train, arrive 
for supper. 

TERMS: $10 to $15 per week, $2 to $2. 50 per day. 
Open from June 15th to October ist. All communications should t e .addressed to 

MERWIN Sl hall 
TELEGKAPH IN HOUSE. ^^^^ Mount'ain Lake, 

HAMILTON COUNTY, N. Y. 
t^"Be careful and address Blue Mountain >Touse , instead of Blue Mountain 
Lakft House. 

THE ISTE^W 

^JOHN G. HOLLAND, Proprietor, 

Blue Alotintain LaUe, Hao^ilton^ Co., N. Y. 

Blue Mountain Lake is the Cem of the Adirondack 
L»kes, and is located in the Heart of the Treat Wild- 
erness, 1 ,800 feet above tide. 

The New Blue Mountain lake House is a large. dir?ble stturlurp, Ircrtfd on 
a dry. sandy elevation 50 feet above the Lake, and. with its 01 tly'rg Coitagf s. 
furnishes ample accr mmodation for over three hundred pucKts. M?in Farlcr 
80x40 feet ; Dining Ror m. 125x40 feet. 

Everything new, ^lain, cleanly, comfortable and home-like. First-clsfs hair 
mattresses and woven wire springs in every sk eping room. 

Pure Mountain Spring- T7ater, Perfect Drainag-o, Absolute Freedom 
from Malaria. Positively Proof ag-ainst all forms of Hay Fever. 

The surrounding scenery is a p em of beauty, and the pure, dry, invigorating 
atmo.phere is Nature's l.fe-giving tonic. The breezes blow over pine, spruce and 
other j.'ummy and resinous trees, which statistics prove conducive to health and 
\ n=;evity Table first-class in every respect. Vegetables and milk fresh from the 
H..tel farm. 

Oi>en froiTi A.pril to >Io\'ei'nl>er. 

RATES, $3.00 Per Day. Per Week, according to location of rooms. 

Doily Mails. Tf kgrar^ f ff ^ e in tie Ptttl large Fire-place f in I^rlcr j rd 

Office. Steamers leave Blue IV^cuntain Lake House deck daily for all foicts. 



25$ 



jBtof • /'loonu<n ^ 



KND 



^TEnnDoni • [int. 



o o o o 



tf. G. THOMPSON, Superintendent, 

Si)Pue Mouat'aia "bafte. 



R 



AQUETTE LAKE HOTEL, 

(Formerly known as " Under the Hemlocks.") 

Kiiqiietle Lake, llauiiiton County, New York. 

EUGENE FINCK, FREDERICK FINCK, Proprietors. 

The Hotel is located on an elevated point overlooking the lake, and com- 
mands one of the finest views in the Adirondack region. Elevation i, 800 feet 
above tidewater. It has been ueivly fur)iisJied throughout, and in addition 
has fine new spring beds in every sleeping room. Suitable arrangements 
are provided for heating the apartments when required. 

The Climate is invigorating and bracing, and the abundance of Balsam, 
Pine, Spruce and other resinous trees imparts to the air those healing qual- 
ities so beneficial in throat and pulmonary difficulties. Tho.se afflicted with 
Hav Fever or Rose Cold experience immediate relief. 

For Sportsmen and Tourists Competent Guides are provided, with a com- 
plete outfit for camping purposes. 

Hiintini^ SlVkX Fis/iin,^ is excellent, and a fleet of Lake and Guide Boats 
are provided for the accommodation of guests. 

Pure Spring Water, Fresh Vegetables and milk. 

Steamers on Raquette Lake connecting at Marion River Carrj^ jvith 
steamers on Blue ^Mountain Lake stop at Hotel Dock at every trip. 

Furnished Cottage.s to rent by th*« mouth or season. 

Telegraph and Post Office in connection with the hotel. 

OPEN FROM JUNE 1 5TH TO NOVEMBER 1ST. 

RATES, $3.00 per day ; $15.00 to $25.00 per week, according to location. 
Special rates for vSeptember and October. Special rates for Families. 

A diagram showing location of rooms, and circular will be forwarded 
upon application. 



yHE ANTLERS, 



KA^^lKTTE LAKK. Hamilton Co., >.Y. 

SEASON OF 1890. 



C. H. BEXNETT, Proprietor. 

AN IDEAL FAMILY RESORT. 

The Antlers is centrally located on one of the finest points on the lake, and 
commands beautiful mountain views of the surrounding country. It is 
built on the Colonization Plan, having in connection several Cottages that 
can be rented entire or at the usual room rates. The table is the best that 
can be found in the woods. Boats and Guides in connection with the House. 
Wines served at the table only. For further information, address, 

C. H. BENNETT, Baquette Lake, Hamilton Co.. N. Y., 

or Browx (K: WlTliKKS, 169 Broadway, N. Y. 

DHQniyDE-on-inQUEnc^s^ 

A new and elegantly furnished nine-room cottage to lease for the 
season. For particulars apply to J. 0. A. BRYERE, 

P. o. Address, raquette Lake. Proprietor. 



257 

^liironclaGR Forestry. 

A number of gentlemen have secured, and will preserve intact, a tract of nearly 
4,000 Acres of unbroken forest on both shores of 

Lonsro- ljl.k:e, 

THE HEART OF THE ADIRONDACKS, 

with miles of beautiful shores, sandy beaches, bold points, sheltered coves, and the 
magniticent forest stretching back of all. 

Limited number of Choice Camp and Villa Sites in 10 acre lots for sale, includ- 
ing Game and Forest privileges of the entire tract, to unexceptionable parties, at 
$250 a lot. (A few of the best held at $500.) 

Any of these lots may be lease! for three or five years at $25 or $50 and taxes 
per year, with privilege of purchasing at above prices at any time during lease. 

Also, Forked Pine Camp to let for season. Roomy, rustic lodge, with big 
fire-place. Kitchen and dining room separate. Landing, Beach, Spring— every- 
thing complete. Apply to Trustees, 

HAZARD STEVENS, 85 Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass. 
OSCAR B. IRELAND, Springfield, Mass. 
GEORGE E. TERRV, Waterbury, Conn. 

Or, M. R. SUTTON, Agent, 

LONG LAKE, HAMILTON CO., N. Y. 

H-TJnTn? TTHTT^ t? long lake, N. Y. Located in a pine grove at the 
U JtbU V Jj AU \J*^U, junction of the Blue Mountain and Raquette Lake 
Roads, I mile from South Pond and 2^ miles from Owl's Head Pond and Mountain, 
to which a good trail will be opened the coming season. Owl's Head Pond is said 
to be one of the best grounds for trout fishing in the Adirondacks. Buttermilk Falls 
is only 2 miles distant, where good bass fishing is to be had. Plenty of pickerel is 
also to be found here, and good deer, partridge and duck shooting in their season. 
Guides, boats and carriages to and from trains at North Creek furnished on appli- 
cation. Board, per day, $2.50 ; per week, $10 to $14. Dinner, y; cents : Supper or 
Breakfast, 50 cents. Open May 1 ; closes Nov. 15. DAVID HELMS, Prop. 

L/4KE HOUSE J ^^""^ ^^^^' Hamilton Co., N. Y. 

Boats, Guides and Supplies furnished. 
BOARD, $2 per Day ; $10 to $12 per Week. Special Rates for the Season. 

MRS. C. H. KELLOGG, Proprietor. 

RAQUETTE FAUUS HOT^U 

Is on the direct routes from Paul Smith's and the Saranac Lakes to Long, Forked, 
Raquette and Blue Mountain Lakes. This section is noted for excellent Hunting 
and Fishing. Guides, Boats, Supplies, etc., furnished on application. 

Board, $10 to $12 per week : $2 per day. Correspondence solicited. 

See page m. Addross, CEO. W. WALTON, Saranac Lake. 



25^ 



DRS. STRONG'S SANITARIUM 



AND SELECT 
FAMILY HOTEL 
SARATOGA SPRINGS. 

A popular summer resort. Open all the year. Location central and unsur- 
passed. Just near enough to all the whirl and far enough for rest All the best 
remedial appliances. Table and appointments first-class. Send for circulars. 
Address DPS. S. S. & S. E. STRONG, SARATOGA SPRINGS. 



PH30TOdHRAP^Y\ 

BECOMES A PLEASURABLE CE^BTAINTV BY USING 

CMBOTt'S^DRrPtllTES 

. . TRADE MARK . -.:;:? , o- ■••- - 

^ "CELLULIJID'^FIIP. 

For Sale by All Dealers. Ask For and Take No Other 



Keystone Dry Plateand Film Works, Wayne iflftci^Phila^ 



You will enjoy a very pleasant trip by taking a sail up or down the 
Hudson River on the Popular Steamers 

DREW" or "dean RICHMOND," 

people's^IvenTng line. 



a 



You will enjoy all the comforts of good living. Tables supplied with 
the best the markets afford. The excellence of the cuisine is a feature 
of this line. This is the tourist's and pleasure seeker's route as well 
as the business man's. A steamer leaves Albany for New York (every 
week day) 8 P. M. Leaves New York for Albany (every week day) 
from Pier 41, N. R., foot Canal Street, 6 p. m. ' Rare, .$1.50. 
Round Trip, $2.50. m. B. WATERS, G. P. A. 



NEl^ YORK 

AND 

ALBANY. 



steamers leave 
Vestry St. Pier, N. Y., 8.40 A.M 
22d " " " 9.00 " 



RETURNING LEAVE 

Hamilton St., Albany, 8.30 A.M 
IvIUSIC. NIUSIC. 

SEE THXT your tickets READ VIA 
4^> 

Through Tickets Sold at our Offices to all Points and Baggage Chocked to Destination 



259 



E. &H.T. ANTHONY & CO., 

591 Broadway, New York. 




MANUFACTURERS AND IMP()RTERS OF 

Photographic Instruments, 

OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. 



TTHEl F*. E). O. Gl^MEIRA 

The latest improvement in DETECTIVE CAMERAS, takes pictures 

4x5 inches in size, either vertically or horizontally. Can be 

used with either our cut Films or Plates. Protected by four 

Patents and another pending. Handsomely covered 

with black grained leather. Price complete, with 

three double holders, only $20.00. 

Antliony's Cliinax Neplm Filins Reduce WeigM and Space to a Mlniiniiin. 

• 14 DOZ. FILMS WEIGH LESS THAN 1 DOZ. GLASS PLATES. 

Patent Detective, Fairy, Novel and Bicycle Cameras. The Phantom 
Camera, the Champion Light Weight of the World, Anthony's Reversible 
Back Camera, The Reversible Back Normandie and the Victor. Sole 
agents for the Celebrated DALLEMEYJEK Lenses, .Send for Catalogue 
or call and examine. Forty-seven years established in this line of business. 

PUBLISHERS OF 

ANTHONY'S PHOTOGRAPHIC BULLETIN. 

PROF. CHAS. F. CHANDLER, EDITOR. 
DR. A. H. ELLIOTT, ASSOCIATE Editor. 

Su.t>scriptiorx Price, $3.00 per arxrxvLtra.. 



26o 



• • TO fH^ roukisi • • 

hi III III III 

fWENTY-FIVE years ago if one desired to secure 
a memento of his visit to a celebrated ruin, 
waterfall, or other place of interest, he was 
obliged to resort to the old and unsatisfactory 
practice of pencil sketching which gave but an 
imperfect idea of the actual view presented to 
the eye. This is all changed now. To-day for a 
less expenditure than was required for purchasing 
a kit of drawing implements one may procure a 

(;omplGtG pl7ote^rapl7ic ©uffif 

which can be transported without inconvenience, 
and without previous instruction or experience 
can take home with him faithful delineations of 
any points of interest which he may visit. Those 
interested may secure on application, without 
charge, a catalogue of Photographic Cameras, 
Outfits, etc., from 

THE SCOVILLS ADAMS CO., 

423 BROOME ST., NEW YORK. 



26] 



NEW KODAK CAMERAS. 

** You press the button, we do the rest'' 

(or you can do it yourself.) 

SEVEN NEW STYLES AND SIZES 

ALL LOADED WITH 

TRANSPARENT FILMS. 



A system which admits of the practice of photography with- 
out the least knowledge of the art is presented by the " Kodak." 

Anyone can use this camera. The operation of making a 
pictute consists simply of pressing a button. No dark room 
or chemicals are necessary. One hundred pictures are made 
without reloading. 

By the aid of the " Kokak" a complete illustrated record of 
every day incidents, a picturesque diary of every trip, 
beautiful bits of landscape and hundreds of interesting scenes 
may be readily obtained. 

A handsome russet leather carrying case with shoulder strap 
is a part of each outfit, and the operator is thus enabled to 
carry about and use the Kodak as easily as though it were 
a field glass. 

THE EASTMAN COMPANY, 
Rochester, N. Y. 

^^"ForSale by all Photo. Stock Dealers. Send for Catalogue, 



262 

INTRODUCERS OF THE 25 CALIBRE 

' RIM FIRE STEVENS SPECIAL CARTRIDGE. 




"^ 



.•^ 






o^ 






CD 









3oa u±uvo andid onot 3aanvo zz ^^ 

-inddaONOM 3H± dO SdOXVNIOIuO 




A Picture Periodical Without Letter Press. 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY. 



EACH ISSUE OF ''SUN AND SHADE" CONSISTS OF 

EIGHT TO TWELVE PLATES ON PAPER 

11 X 14 INCHES. 



TWELVE NUMBERS. 

Single or Sample Copies, - - - 30 Cents. 



Charming reproductions in most delicate colors of several noted 
pictures. — /F rld^ New York. 

A gallery of timely art. — Joitrual, Boston. 

The first number is a sumptuous affair in its mechanical and artis- 
tic features. — Daily Graphic, New York, 

Show a remarkable advance, and demonstrate that America is 
well able to hold its i wn against even such artists as Goupil and 
Braun. — Ledger, Philadelphia. 

^l7e ♦ pl7ofo-(ara\}urG ♦ ^0mf)ai\y, 

137 WEST 23d STREET, NEW YORK. 



264 



MAPS, BOOKS AND PHOTOGRAPHS, 

PUBLISHED BY S. R. STODDARD, GLENS FALLS, N. Y. 
GUIDE BOOKS. 

The Adirondacks, Illustrated.— 16 mo., 27:2 pages, pstudo- 
cloth cover, '^5 cents. 

Albanv Evening Journal.—" Koutes, fares to different points, 
timf-tables, maps, guides, and whatever el.se 1 he traveler is nioet 
cnncj-rned in Ivnowinj:, are treated clearly and inielliaeiitly." Ntw 
YouK Times.— "A book that may be read ihrough from beginning 
to end at any time, and be found full of interesting reading matter.'" 
Troy Times.— "A delightful boolv, well spiced with anecdote and 
a- 1 venture." 

Saratop-a, Lake Georg-e and Lake Champlain, historical 
and (l.iscriptive, lU mo., 200 pages, pseudo-cloth cover, 2.5 cents. 
Contains colored map thn-e feet long, outline cuts of mountaius, 
ieiands, etc., as seen from the passing steamer. 

MAPS.— Map of the Adirondack Wilderness. Pocket 

edition on map-bond paper, in board cover $1.00. 

FoiusT & Strkam.— " It is the most complete map of the Adiron- 
dj.cU region ever published, and is just what is wanted by a party 
intending to camp out." Shooting and Fishing.—'* State officials 
consult t and the Fish Commissioners depend upon it for use of 
the state Game Protectors." 

Map of Lake Georg-e. Scale 1 mile to an inch. Pocket 
ec itiou on map-bond paper, board cover 50 cents. 

Map of Lake Champlain. Scale 2% miles to an inch, with 
smalitr maps of tile Richelieu Itiver, and routes and distances to im- 
portant p> ints. Pocket edition on map-bond jiaper, board cover, 50cts. 
BOOKS OF PICTURES. 

Lake Georg-e. Twelve photogravure plates 10x12 inches, 
comprising over 50 choice bits of Lake George scenery. Bound in 
torchon board, wHh illuminated title, $1..50 Among the 
Mountains of the Adirondacks.— Ten plates. Same st^le 
and size ^s Lake Geoive. $1.50. Through the Lake Country 
of the Adirondacks.— Same as above. $1.50. The Hudson 
River, from its Source to the Sea —Same as above $1.50. 
Au Sable Chasm. — Pli 'togravure. twelve pases of pictures, 
5lox7 inches. Illuminated title. In mailing box, 50 cents. 

SOUVENIRS OF THE NORTH. (P"ce 75 cents each, 
contain from eighteen to thirty representative views of sections in- 
dicated bv their titles, reproduced by the Photo-iiraviire Company. 
Size o'.x? inches.) Saratotra, Lake George, Blue Moun- 
tain Lake, "Raquette Lake, Long Lake, Tupper Lake 
Region, Luzerne ard Schroon Lake, "Wild Lakes of 
the Adirondacks, (An SabK' Lakes. Tear-of-the-clouds, Ava- 
lanche, (.'olden. Saidfoul. Henderson, etc.) Elizabethtown 
and Keene Valley, North Elba and beyond, Lake 
Placid, The Saranac Lakes, Winter at Saranac Lake, 
Glens Falls, Howes Cave. In mailing box 75 cents each. 

PHOTOGRAPHS ^f f^e Adirondacks, Lake George. Lake 
Champlain, the Hudson Kiver, West Point Military Academy, 
Howes Cave, Mount Desert Islan-', the Bay of Fund v. etc. Prices, 
per doz.. Crystal Stereos $2.00 : Boudoir Views (.5x8) $3 GO : Im- 
perial Vn ws 1 7x9) S6 00 ; 10x14 Views, $1.00 each ; 16x20 Views 
(uTMiionnled) in mailing t'lbes. $2,00 each. 

Lantern Slides. Any subject in mv collection of views at 50 
cents each. Transparencies in nickel frames 5x8 inches, $1 25 ; 
8x10 inches, $2.50 

All sroods above (except lantern elides and transparencies) sent 
postpaid on receipt of price. 

Address, S. R. STODDARD, Glens Falls. N. Y. 



265 



A NKW IVIAP OF 

LAKE GHAMPLAIN, 

READY FOR DELIVERY NOW. 



It shows Lake Champlain from Whitehall to the 
head of Missisquoi Bay, on a scale of 2)^ miles to 
the inch, giving its islands, reefs, points, etc., 
named ; its surrounding counties, towns, cities and 
villages, with roads and mountains, hotels, camps, 
boarding houses, and man)^ private cottages. 

It gives also a map of Lake George on the same 
scale, a map of the Richelieu River from Rouse's 
Point to the St. Lawrence ; maps showing routes of 
he Champlain Steamers, charts of railroad lines 
and distances to important points, from Caldwel', 
Whitehall, Burlington and Rouse's Point, and rail- 
road and stage lines and distances into the Adiron- 
dack resorts from the various '* Gateways." 

Richly colored by towns and sections. 

Finished in Two Styles. 

On fine map-bond paper, folded, in board cover, 
for the pocket. Price 50 cents. 

On heavy plate paper for framing or office use, 
sent in mailing tubes to prevent creasing. Price 
60 cents. 

Sent postpaid on receipt of price. 
Address, 

8. R. STODDARD, Publisher. 

Clens falls. N. Y 



266 



MAP OF" THE 

ADIf(ONDAGK WILDEi^NESS, 

BY S. R. STODDARD. 
[Light portion shows Hudson River drainage.l 




Size 25x31 inches Scale 4 ni les to an inch Colored in counties. 
On mip-bond paper in cloth cover f..r carrying in the pocket $1 00. 
On heavy plate paper for framinc;, i„ mailino:'. tube to prevent 
creasing, ,$l.()0, post paid on receipt of price. ^ 

S. R. STODDAED, Publisher, Glens Falls, N. Y. 



i B '07 



